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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 




The Development of Our Flag 



OUR COUNTRY 
IN STORY 



THE FRANCISCAN SISTERS t)T+Ue4,^ci ov^ev o^ Sf, Fran 
OF THE PERPETUAL ADORATION- 
ST. ROSE CONVENT, LA CROSSE, WISCONSIN 




SCOTT, FORESMAN AND COMPANY 

CHICAGO NEW YORK 






Copyright 1917 by 
Scott, Foresman and Company 






MAY 28 1917 
©CI.A4G2722 



FOREWORD 

This little book, intended for use in the fifth and sixth grades of 
our elementary schools, embodies in a series of stories many of the 
more notable events in the history of our country. In these various 
narratives are portrayed the Catholic missionary, discoverer, ex- 
plorer, and statesman, bringing out the influence of faith on char- 
acter and actions. Another distinctive feature of the book is that 
while it deals with projects, and emphasizes the elements of cause 
and effect, it still contains all the ethical value of a biographical 
work. 

Children delight in stories. The dramatic, the picturesque, the 
personal, appeal powerfully to the youthful mind, leading it to see 
the past as a living present, and to think the thoughts and expe- 
rience the feelings of those who now live only in their words 
and deeds. When reading about Columbus, Father Marquette, or 
Washington, the child is charmed; it quite intuitively imbibes 
ethical principles and acquires without special effort the knowledge 
of what is in itself dry, unattractive fact-matter. 

"Truth embodied in a tale 
Will enter in at lowly doors." 

Accordingly, the historic events described in this text are made to 
center about some hero, and are presented in a manner to attract 
and claim the attention of the youthful mind, inspiring it with a 
desire to search farther into the broad field of history. Thus this 
little book will achieve the main object of its mission — it will become 
a basis for the more advanced study of history in the seventh and 
eighth grades. 

The subject matter has been arranged in chronological order as 
nearly as possible. No attempt, however, has been made to give a 
connected account of historical topics. On the contrary, each set 
of narratives is a separate unit complete in itself. The two first 
series of stories, "A Pathway Across the Atlantic" and "Balboa 
and Magellan Prove That Columbus Had Discovered a New Conti- 
nent," treating on discovery, pi-epare the way for the colonization 
of the American continent. "The Story of a Great River" is repre- 
sentative of the period of exploration. "The Great Southwest" 
embodies the great scheme of civilization and christianization. "On 
the Banks of the Potomac" and "Our National Banner" stand for 

3 



4 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

the organization of the American nation. "West to the Mississippi," 
"West to the Pacific," and "A Missionary to the Far West" carry 
emigration and industry across the Alleghanies into the Mississippi 
Valley, thence over the Rockies to the Pacific; "The West Is Linked 
with the East" finally connects the extreme ocean coasts by the 
story of the first transcontinental railroad. Thus all the subjects 
taken together contribute toward forming a peculiarly charming 
and valuable whole. 

The teacher's attention is called to the several maps and numerous 
illustrations by means of which events and characters are presented 
more clearly and accurately to the mind. 

At the end of each series of stories are found questions which not 
only stimulate thought about what has been presented in the text, 
but also furnish an incentive for additional reading. In addition 
to the questions are references to historical poems and songs. The 
reading or singing of these stirring poems and ballads will aid 
wonderfully in firing the imagination and fixing a principle or fact 
of history in the memory. 

In the preparation of this book original records, old journals, 
and various other authentic sources have been freely consulted and 
utilized. We would acknowledge indebtedness to the Jesuit Fathers 
at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, and Spokane, Washington; and to 
a number of other Reverend members of the clergy who read the 
manuscript and offered helpful advice and suggestions. Special 
mention is due to Father Zephyrin Engelhardt, O. F. M., Santa 
Barbara, California, the author of Missio7is and Missionaries of 
California. Besides reading very closely the entire manuscript, he 
offered freely for use in this book any matter, maps, or illustra- 
tions from his books that might prove suitable for the purpose. We 
are indebted to the Bobbs-Merrill Company for kind permission to 
reproduce seven illustrations from The Conquest of the Northwest; 
to the Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Company for permitting the use of 
the illustration "Meeting with the Natives," from Towle's Magellan; 
and to Dodd, Mead & Company for the illustration "A Patagonian," 
from Guillemard's Ferdinand Magellan. Our thanks are also due 
to Mr. F. A. Wadleigh, passenger traffic manager of the Denver & 
Rio Grand Railroad Company, for the photograph from which the 
engraving "The Great Divide" is reproduced. Credit must also be 
given Miss Mary E. Tobin, Principal of the Marquette School, Chi- 
cago, Illinois, for reading proofs and offering valuable suggestions. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

I. A Pathway across the Atlantic 

1. A Long-Ago Voyage 9 

2. The Northmen on American Shores 13 

3. The Need of a New Waterway to the Far East. . 19 

4. Columbus Proposes a Westward Voyage to the 
Far East 24 

5. Columbus Sails on a Westward Voyage 33 

6. Columbus Finds Strange Coasts 38 

7. Columbus Returns to Spain 42 

8. Three More Westward Voyages 47 

II. Balboa and Magellan Prove that Columbus Had Dis- 
covered A New Continent 

1. The Discovery of the Pacific 52 

2. The First Voyage around the World 60 

III. The Story of a Great River 

1. A Visitor from Quebec at St. Ignace 73 

2. On the Way to the Mississippi 78 

3. Down the Mississippi to the Arkansas 86 

4. Homeward Bound. The Death of Father Marquette 94 

5. The Mississippi Explored from Source to Mouth. . 98 

IV. The Great Southwest 

1. The Franciscan Padres in the South 102 

2. The Jesuit Padres in Lower California 106 

3. The Fi'anciscan Padres in Upper California 110 

4. The California Mission System . 123 

V. On the Banks of the Potomac 

1. The Old Dominion 136 

2. The Land of the Sanctuary 140 

3. Mount Vernon 146 

4. Two Great Sons of Maryland 162 

5. Our Capital City 174 

5 



Q CONTENTS 

PAGE 

VI. Our National Banner 

1. The Origin of Our Flag 183 

2. The Meaning of Our Flag 187 

VII. West to the Mississippi 

1. Colonial Means of Travel 200 

2. Through Cumberland Gap to Kentucky 207 

3. Down the Ohio to the Northwest Territory 224 

4. The Old National Pike 248 

VIII. West to the Pacific 

1. Jefferson Adds Louisiana to the United States. . . 259 

2. An Exploring Expedition to the Far West 263 

IX. A Missionary to the Far West 308 

X. The West Is Linked with the East 

1. The Forty-Niners 316 

2. Early Means of Communication Between the East 
and the West 322 

3. The First Railroad across the Continent 326 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS 



PAGE 

The Development of our Flag 

(color) Frontispipce 

Statue of Leif Bricson 9 

i-'t. Brendan and His Monks Set 

Sail for a Western Land 12 

Ruins of the Cathedral of Garda, 

Greenland 15 

The Landing of the Northmen ... 16 

Map of Norse Voyages 18 

Genoa Today 20 

The Boy Columbus 21 

Map of Two Principal Trade 

Routes to India 22 

Map — The World as Known in 

Columbus's Day 25 

Toscanelli's Map 27 

Christopher Columbus 28 

Queen Isabella 2!) 

Columbus's Room at La Rabida. . SI 
Columbus before Queen Isabella 

at Granada 32 

The Ships of Columbus 36 

The Landing of Columbus 39 

Map Showing Route of Colum- 
bus's First Voyage 40 

Wreck of the Santa Maria 42 

Columbus before the Spanish 
Court after His PMrst Voyage. . 45 

Ruins at Isabella 48 

Balboa Being Carried on Board in 

a Barrel 54 

Indian Village ia Darien 56 

Balboa Taking Possession of the 

Pacific 59 

Ferdinqnd Magellan 61 

Magellan's Fleet 63 

A Patagonian of Today 67 

Magellan Meeting with the Na- 
tives of the Philippine Islands. 7(> 
Map of Magellan's Voyage around 

the Globe 71 

St. Ignace 73 

Interior of St. Ignace 74 

Father Marquette 7v> 

The Burial of De Soto iu the Mis- 
sissippi 78 



PAGE 

Statue of Joliet 80 

Map Showing Explorations of 
Father Marquette and Joliet, 
La Salle, and Father Hennepin. 83 

Along the Wisconsin River 85 

Along the Mississippi River 87 

Indian Calumets 89 

A Fleet of Indian Canoes Accom- 
panying Father Marquette and 
Joliet to the Arkansas River. . . 92 

Death of Father Marquette 96 

La Salle Taking Possession of the 

Mississippi River 99 

The Aztec Calendar Stone 104 

Indians at Work in the Field .... 108 
Monument to Padre Serra at San 

Diego Ill 

Padre Junipero Serra 114 

Founding the San Diego Mission. .116 
The Founding of the San Carlos 

Mission at Monterey 119 

Map Showing Old California Mis- 
sions 121 

A Padre Making His Way through 

the Wilderness 124 

Life at a Mission 126 

Bells of San Gabriel Mission 128 

Discovery of San Francisco Bay. .129 

Santa Barbara Mission 132 

At the Fountain of San Gabriel 

Mission 135 

Map Showing a Strip of the At- 
lantic Seaboard 137 

Virginia Manor House and Slave 

Quarters 139 

Landing of the Maryland Colo- 
nists 143 

A Scene on the Potomac 145 

The Wharf at Mount Vernon. . . .147 

Mount Vernon 148 

Martha Washington 130 

George Washington 152 

Washington Praying in the For- 
est 154 

Washington at Mount Vernon . . . 156 
Washington Entering New York. .159 



8 



ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS 



PAGE 

Bishop Carroll 163 

Georgetown University 16T 

Charles Carroll 1"'^ 

Signing the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence ^^'■^ 

The White House Today 1"7 

Our Capitol 180 

The Birthplace of Our Flag ISS 

Betsy Ross and Her Maids Have 
Completed Our First National 

Flag I- 193 

Francis Scott Key 197 

A Stage Coach 200 

A Packhorse > ■ • ■ 203 

A Conestoga Wagon 204 

A Post-Rider en a Corduroy Road.20."'> 

An Old-Tirne Chaise 20G 

A Part of the Cumberland Gap 

Today 209 

Daniel Boone 212 

A Herd of Buffalo 21ti 

Boonesboro 218 

Attacked by an Indian 221 

The Boone Monument 223 

Blockhouse at Fort Pitt 228 

A Pioneer Home 230 

Corn Island 233 

Capture of the English Com- 
mander at Kaskaskia 237 

Father Gibault .238 

St. Francis Xavier Church at Old 

Vincennes 242 

Clark's Coucil with the Indian 

Chiefs 244 

The March to Vincennes 24."> 

Statue of George Rogers Clark . . 247 
A Packhorse Train Crossing the 

Mountains 249 

Henry Clay Addressing the Sen- 
ate 2,50 

Map of the Cumberland Road. . . .252 
A Conestoga Wagon at a Tollgate.253 



PAGE 

Emigrants on the Old National 

I'ike 255 

A Tavern 256 

Napoleon Bonaparte 259 

Thomas Jefferson 262 

Meriwether Lewis 264 

Mulberry Hill 265 

William Clark 266 

Map ol" (lie Lewis and Clark E.xpe- 

ditioii 269 

Pelican 272 

Decoying the Antelope 274 

Buffalo Fleeing Before the In- 
dians 278 

Sacajawea 282 

Captain Lewis Viewing the Falls 

of the Missouri 284 

The Continental Divide 288 

Wild Horses 290 

Xez Perccs Indians 293 

Mt. Hood 295 

A Waterfall of the Columbia 298 

-V Herd of Elk 301 

Chief Joseph of the Nez Perces 

Tribe 303 

Fulton's First Steamboat 306 

A Flathead Indian Home of To- 
day 309 

Father De Sniet 310 

St. Mary's Mission among the 

Flatheads 312 

The Sacred Heart Mission 313 

San Francisco in 1849 317 

Emigrants on Their Way to Cali- 
fornia 31!) 

Digging and Washing Gold 321 

Colonel William F. Cody 323 

Overland Express Stage and I'ony 

Express 325 

Joining the Two Pacific Rail- 
roads 329 



A PATHWAY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 



1. A LONG-AGO VOYAGE 

Here is a picture of an interesting statue which adorns 
Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. For the meaning of 
this beautiful monument we must go to the rugged island 
of Iceland, located between 
Scandinavia and Greenland, 
and close to the Arctic circle. 
The inhabitants of Iceland 
possess a wealth of hand- 
written history stories, or 
sagas, as they are called. 

These famous Icelandic 
sagas tell us of a great 
prince, Eric the Red, so 
named because he had red 
hair, Eric was born in Nor- 
way, where he lived, not in 
a castle, but in a large, rude- 
ly built wooden house with 
an open roof. Norway is a 
land of snow-capped moun- 
tains and woodland plains, of thousands of lakes and 
numerous mountain torrents. Its high-walled coast is 
deeply cut by numberless bays, and is fringed by count- 
less islands which are rich in meat and eggs and birds 
and fish. In this rugged country, Eric led a wild, free life. 
He fearlessly followed the sharp bark of the wolf, and 
tracked the shaggy bear into its favorite haunts. Above 

9 




STATUE OF LEIF ERICSON 



10 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

all, did the boy Eric love to sit before a roaring fire and 
listen to the stories of the chiefs or vikings, as they were 
called, from the Norwegian word viks, meaning "bay." 

These vikings were tall, strong, and fine-looking men 
with blue eyes, long, light hair, and shaggy beards. They 
were clad in rich clothing and glittering armor with 
curious iron helmets. 

The proudest possession of the viking was his ship. 
The prow, or front, was high, and usually had a savage- 
looking dragon's head upon it. Its stern looked like a 
huge dragon's tail. Both head and tail were covered with 
gold and seemed all on fire when the sun shone upon them. 
The long oars resting in the oar-locks of the swelling sides 
looked like so many legs. The single brightly-colored sail, 
set into a huge block of wood, resembled the wings of 
the dragon. From the masthead of this strange ship 
fluttered a square yellow flag with the picture of a raven 
upon it. 

Hardy, vigorous, and daring were the pagan Northmen. 
But they were sometimes also fierce and cruel. They made 
their way far around Cape North to the White Sea, and 
even sailed as far south as Algiers and Constantinople. 
They enjoyed nothing more than a raid upon European 
market towns, many of which they left in ashes. 

Eric delighted in the vikings' tales of successful plun- 
der. There was, however, one story of a gentler nature 
which was especially interesting to the young viking. 
Would you like to hear this story as it was told at the 
firesides of the Northmen about a thousand years ago? 
If so, find St. Brandon's Bay on the map of Ireland. 

Let us imagine ourselves living almost fifteen hundred 
years ago on this famous bay. It is a beautiful summer 
morning. A boat is anchored in the bay. On the shore 
we see a man clad in the garb of a monk. His bearing is 



A PATHWAY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC H 

noble. His kindly face expresses wisdom, prudence, and 
manly courage. This man is the holy abbot, St. Brendan 
the Voyager. About him are gathered groups of monks. 
All are silent and thoughtful, awaiting the signal to 
embark. 

"Let us," says St. Brendan, "set out on our long voyage 
in the name of the Holy Trinity." 

And where are these voyagers going ? They are setting 
out in search of an unknown western country in which 
they expect to find strange people whom they will teach 
to know and love God by the wonderful stories of Bethle- 
hem, of Nazareth, of Jerusalem, and of Calvary. 

A favorable wind spreads and fills the sail, and the 
brave little company speeds smoothly on. Before long 
every trace of land is lost. The lonely bark seems but a 
tiny speck upon the mighty, boundless ocean. 

"Tell us," says one of the monks to St. Brendan, "do 
you really believe that there is another country far away 
to the westward?" 

"I do," answers St. Brendan. "We are told that long, 
long ago, even before Christ came upon this earth, the 
pagan people of our nation discovered a wonderfully 
beautiful western island in which lived a happy people." 

"May we hope to be as fortunate as were these first 
western navigators?" asks another monk thoughtfully. 

As if to say "no" to the good monk's inquiry, the wind 
suddenly ceases to blow, and the boat comes to a stand- 
still. The monks eagerly reach for the oars and take 
turns at propelhng the bark along. But alas, their 
strength is soon spent, and on beholding the seemingly 
endless expanse of water, they begin to lose courage. 

But the holy Brendan knows no fear. "Be not afraid, 
my good Brothers," he answers. "Trim the sail and let 
the vessel float whither Providence will guide it." 



12 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 




A PATHWAY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 13 

The boat now drifts steadily and safely westward. But 
our brave voyagers are weary and hungry. Their store 
of food and drink is fast giving out. They have already 
been forty days upon the water, and all this while have 
not seen even a sign of land. 

"Look!" exclaims one of the monks in sudden joyous 
surprise. "Do you see that vast stretch of land and 
those towering hills shaded in the mists?" 

With joyful hearts the brave navigators steer towards 
the land. They moor their boats and hasten to step ashore, 
where they fall on their knees and raise their hearts and 
voices to God in fervent thanksgiving. They find the new 
land covered with rocky cliffs and fertile plains, and see 
sparkling streams flowing into the sea. Heavy forests 
bound the horizon. Who can describe the joy and delight 
of St. Brendan and his brave companions ! For seven long 
years they wander about, exploring the country and enjoy- 
ing the newness of its scenes and products. Then they 
return to their native land. 

Where Brendan's voyage really led him we do not know. 
The story of his strange adventures, however, spread 
throughout Europe. The bold, sea-roving Northmen told 
and retold the tale at their firesides and recorded it with 
their own bold adventures in their sagas. 

And why, do you think, did Eric like the story of St. 
Brendan in particular ? Undoubtedly because this adven- 
turous young Northman thought of making such a long 
Western voyage himself some day. 

2. THE NORTHMEN ON AMERICAN SHORES 

Eric the Red became the proud captain of a large viking 
ship, representing a dragon. In this ship he roved the 
seas in every direction, robbing and plundering as he went. 
He finally got into a quarrel with some of his countrymen. 



14 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

and had to flee to Iceland for his life. Here he became as 
lawless as ever, and was again obliged to seek safety in 
flight. 

But in which direction did he this time turn his drag- 
on's head? Hear him shouting in tune with the lashing 
waves as he pushed out from the shore: "West, west, on 
to the westward, my trusty dragon, steer me on !" And 
on, on, ever westward, dashed the fearless viking. 

He was already far out at sea. Dense clouds hid the 
sun by day and the stars by night. Fogs and mists sur- 
rounded him. But the sea king knew no fear. Setting 
a screeching raven free, the viking watched its flight with 
intense, straining eyes. But the raven soon returned, 
and Eric knew that no land was near. So on, on, through 
the fog, against storm and wind, he again pushed his 
trusty dragon. Once more he set his feathered pilot free. 
This time the bird did not return ; so the sea king rowed 
with all speed in his power in the direction of its flight, 
and soon came upon a large island all covered with ice and 
snow, excepting one spot on the low, southwestern coast 
which was overgrown with green grass and shrubs. The 
sea king swung his dragon around what is now Cape Fare- 
well and leaped upon the largest island on the globe. 

Eric the Red named this gray and white country of 
rocks and ice and polar bears Greenland, thinking that 
his friends would be more anxious to come and settle in 
this new land if he gave it this inviting name. After 
whihng away three years on the coast of Greenland, Eric 
ventured back to Iceland. He soon returned with a num- 
ber of friends and kinsmen. Other Icelanders followed, 
and by and by a thrifty colony grew up on the south- 
western coast of Greenland. 

A certain young Icelander named Biarni wished to join 
his father in Greenland. On his way thither, he was 



A PATHWAY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 



15 




RUINS OF THE CATHEDRAL OF GARDA, 
GREENLAND 



driven out of his course by a storm. When the storm 
was over, he caught sight of land to the southward. 
This land being so far out of his way, he paid but little 
attention to it, and steered northward, finally reaching 
Greenland. He later returned to Norway, and the news 
of his having seen land to the south greatly interested 
Eric's son, named Leif. Leif's home was in Iceland, but 
he happened to be in Norway at the court of King Olaf 
at the time. The young 
Northman at once re- 
solved to see the new 
land. So he bought Biar- 
ni's ship and with some 
thirty hardy sailors pre- 
pared for his long ocean 
voyage. 

Meanwhile the mis- 
sionaries of the Catholic Church had been preaching the 
Gospel throughout the land of Norway. King Olaf had 
become a zealous Catholic. Leif Ericson, too, with his 
whole crew of sailors, had become a convert, and his chief 
motive in sailing westward was to take missionaries to 
Greenland. 

Let us picture to ourselves the noble captain and his 
brave crew setting out from Norway in the year 1000, 
fourteen years after Eric the Red had discovered Green- 
land. This famous Norse leader was thirty years of age, 
a stately, prudent, and wise man. His ship was a real 
viking boat except that, above its fluttering yellow banner 
with the raven, rose the cross. 

The voyagers reached Greenland in safety, and from 
there Leif turned his course southward and presently 
sighted the coast seen by Biarni. He touched upon what 
may have been the peninsulas of Labrador and Nova 



16 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



Scotia. After about three weeks' sailing from Green- 
land, Leif and his company landed upon what was prob- 
ably the coast of Massachusetts, near Boston, or, possibly, 
Rhode Island. 

With shouts of joy the hardy Northmen leaped upon 
our American continent. In some places they found the 
land barren and bleak. Rocky tracts stretched back to 
snow-capped western mountains. In other places were 
great forests in which the deer roamed, beautiful flowers 




TIIK LAXDIXO OF THE KORTHMEN 



bloomed, and many kinds of birds sang. The waters of 
the bays and rivers were alive with fish. The sagas tell 
us that one of Leif's party, a German, hailed some clus- 
ters of berries with intense joy. "It is grapes we have 
found !" he exclaimed, "such as abound in my native land. 
This is truly a land of the vine." 

"So it is," said Leif, "and therefore we shall call it 
Vinland. It is really a far better country than Greenland, 
and the Northmen will gladly come to live in it. Let us 
erect log huts and spend the winter here." 

The party passed a very comfortable winter in what 



A PATHWAY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 



17 



may have been the region back of the present site of 
Boston. They found the weather mild compared with the 
extreme cold of their native country. When springtime 
came, they all returned to Greenland. 

Leif now became chief of the Greenland colony in the 
place of his father who had died. He never again visited 
the country he had discovered, but his brother, Thorvald, 
and some other people from Greenland, came at different 
times to Vinland. Some came only to visit, while others 
remained and built homes. Before long a little Norse 
village sprang up. Soon the settlers found, to their great 
surprise, that strange, broad-faced, copper-colored people 
lived in the new country. Who were these people? The 
Northmen, considering them an inferior race, called them 
"skraelings." They were probably Indians. The skrael- 
ings came to trade with the newcomers, and the vikings 
noted that they used bows and arrows and stone hatchets, 
and that their boats were made of skins. 

These skraelings did not long remain friendly. One 
day while they were very busy exchanging their furs for 
strips of red cloth, a bellowing steer, belonging to the new 
settlers, burst from the woods. The furious creature scat- 
tered the sand in showers as it made directly for the 
crowd of traders on the beach. The poor skraelings were 
so frightened that they fled headlong in every direction. 
Ever after they showed themselves unfriendly. Some 
weeks later, a great many of the skraelings came up the 
river in their skin-boats, all yelling and howling at the 
top of their voices. A savage attack followed, in which 
Thorvald was killed by a poisoned arrow. The brave 
young leader was buried on a pleasant cape, the very 
spot from which he had joyfully cried out when landing: 
"On this beautiful spot I should like to fix my home." 

A cross was set at his head and one at his feet and the 
place called Cape of the Cross. 



18 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



There was great joy among the people in the little 
Norse village when one day a blue-eyed baby boy came 
to them. He was the first white child born on the conti- 
nent, and was named Snorri. Snorri and his mother 
later went on a pilgrimage to Rome, where they told the 
Holy Father all about Vinland, the good new country in 
the far West. 





ATLANTIC 

BR 

OCEAN 




^c:>'"''''^ 



MAP OF NOKSE VOYAGES 

Trading voyages between Greenland and Vinland be- 
came common and continued for many years. The last 
record oi a Norse ship going from Greenland to Vinland 
for timber is in 1347. Then an awful plague, called the 
"Black Death," ravaged the countries of the Northmen, 
sweeping off about one-third of the people. After this 
we hear no more of the hardy viking in North American 
waters. The people of Europe did not, at that early date, 
know enough about geography to understand the impor- 
tance of Leif Ericson's discovery. And gradually even 



A PATHWAY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 



19 



the story of the Norse voyages to a distant western 
country was quite forgotten, excepting that the people 
had a vague sense of something done somewhere. This 
something, however, is clearly and truly stated in the 
Icelandic sagas, which tell us that the Catholic Norwegian, 
Leif Ericson, with his Catholic Norse crew, was the first 
of Europeans to set foot on the American continent. 

Such is, in short, the meaning of the beautiful statue 
of Leif the Lucky now standing in Boston, gazing sea- 
ward. 

3. THE NEED OF A NEW WATERWAY TO THE FAR EAST 

In the northern part of the sunny land of Italy, sheltered 
by the Apennine Mountains, is located the grand old sea- 
port town of Genoa. One day, nearly five hundred years 
after the daring Northmen had visited and named Vin- 
land, a child of about eight years of age was seen making 
his way along the sea-beach of Genoa. His fresh, ruddy 
face was surrounded by a wealth of golden hair which fell 
in rich waves upon his shapely shoulders. His frank blue 
eyes were unusually thoughtful for one so young. 

"How I should like to stay here all day," cried the 
delighted lad. "But I am on an errand for my mother 
and must be off." 

Just then a large ship appeared in the distance. The 
boy's keen blue eyes kindled with pleasure. Forgetting 
all about his mother and his errand, he bounded away 
toward the wharf to see the vessel come in and hear the 
news the sailors might have to tell about the wonders 
of far-av/ay countries. The morning grew to noon, the 
afternoon to evening, and still the boy tarried. 

Meanwhile his good parents had become much alarmed 
over their little boy's long absence. The whole household 
was greatly excited, fearing that the child was lost. But 



20 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



at nightfall the boy returned, and when his mother, almost 
beside herself with fright, flew to meet him, he answered 
simply, "I've been on the seashore." But the little lad 
loved his parents dearly, and a grieved look in his thought- 
ful eyes told them that he was sorry for having caused 
them so much anxiety. 




GENOA, TODAY 

Who was this boy, so fond of the sea and so interested 
in the ships that sailed upon its waters? He was Chris- 
topher Columbus, the son of poor but good and pious 
parents. He was born in the busy seaport town of Genoa, 
in a high, six-story house, about the year 1446. 

The father of little Christopher wp.z a simple working- 
man, a wool-comber by trade. He prepared wool for 
spinning and weaving, work which is now done by ma- 
chinery. It took all the father could earn to keep his 
five children, four boys and a girl, in food and clothing. 

But when the good man saw how fond his little 
Christopher was of the sea, he sent him, when only ten 



A PATHWAY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 21 

years old, to a famous school at Pavia, located about 
fifty miles north of Genoa. While at this school the boy 
Columbus studied arithmetic, geography, and much about 
the stars and about life upon the ocean. 

After studying diligently for a few years at Pavia, 
Christopher was obliged to return home to assist his father 
in his work of wool-combing. We might think that he 
very soon forgot all he had learned at 
school, but he did not. For he was a 
studious boy, and just as eagerly as he 
had listened to his teachers at Pavia, so 
now he read every book of travel and 
every sailor's story that he could lay 
hands upon. Whenever the boy was not 
working he would sit on the seashore 
for hours with a book in hand, looking 
toward the deep blue waters, watching 
the ships going to or returning from 
distant countries. ^"^ ^o^' columbus 

Many, indeed, were the ships that the youthful Colum- 
bus saw come and go, for the old seaport town of Genoa 
was at that time the great depot, or trading center, for 
the whole of Europe. Its busy tradesmen sailed far east 
past Constantinople and across the Black Sea to the very 
borders of Asia. Here they loaded their vessels with rich 
silks, dyestuffs, gums, spices, ivory, and precious stones. 
These costly products had been previously brought to the 
shores of the Black Sea from India, either on the backs 
of camels, or on ships and river boats to and up the 
Tigris or the Euphrates River. India, as spoken of by 
Europeans at that time, included the distant and then 
scarcely known parts of Asia, particularly China, known 
as Cathay; Japan, called Cipango; and also the East 
Indies, or Malay Archipelago. 




22 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



With their ships laden with the treasures of the East, 
the Genoese sailors would hasten back home. There they 
unloaded their precious cargoes on to other trading ves- 
sels which lay waiting to receive and carry them to all 
parts of Europe. In this rich trade with the East, Venice 
was a great rival of Genoa. Venice, however, reached 
India by way of the Isthmus of Suez and the Red Sea. 



P E 




.^-^„.,,„^ 



MAP OP TWO PRINCIPAL TRADE ROUTES TO INDIA 

Need we wonder that this sea-faring Italy became the 
mother of the discoverers of our country? Or that its 
merchants claimed that no one in Europe could spice 
wine or season meat without helping to make rich some 
one of their cities ? Or shall we be surprised to learn that 
Columbus went to sea when only fourteen years of age? 
He made his first voyage as cabin boy on a galley that 
sailed on one of the great trading voyages to the East. 
When not yet sixteen, he sailed beyond the Strait of 
Gibraltar, way around and along the western coast of 
Africa, as far south as Guinea. He later also voyaged 
as far north as England and Iceland. 



A PATHWAY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 23 

Distant voyages like these meant far more at that time 
than a voyage around the world does at present, for 
people had a great dread of the wide, unknown ocean. 
They imagined that it contained boiling seas, great whirl- 
pools, and frightful sea-monsters. 

These were all only imaginary dangers. But life on 
the sea was in fact full of real dangers in the days of 
Columbus. The cities of Italy were constantly at war 
among themselves and captured one another's ships 
wherever they could. The Moors, enemies of Christian 
Europe, were always sailing back and forth, seizing ships 
and killing the sailors or selling them into slavery. In 
short, piracy, or seizing without right the ships belonging 
to another, was quite a common thing in those times, 
and a vessel at sea had to be ever on the watch and 
ready to fight its way. 

At one time in a sea-fight with pirates, Columbus lashed 
his ship to that of the sea-robbers. After some hard fight- 
ing both vessels caught fire. Clouds of smoke rolled over 
the water. The crash of falling masts mingled with the 
stifled cries of victory, rage, and pain. Only when both 
ships were fast sinking did Columbus plunge into the sea 
to save his life. With the help of a floating oar, he made 
his way to the nearest shore, which was six miles away. 
On landing, he knelt and earnestly thanked God for his 
narrow escape from death. 

He was happy to find that the coast upon which he 
thus landed was that of Portugal. For the little nation 
of Portugal was at the time foremost among the countries 
of the world in the discovery of new lands. Its brave 
sailors had ventured farther away from home than those 
of any other country. The learned and daring Portuguese 
navigator. Prince Henry, had discovered the Azores, the 
Madeiras, the Cape Verde Islands, and the Canaries. They 



24 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

had even safely crossed the equator, with its imaginary 
boiling seas and frightful giants, and reached the very 
southernmost tip of Africa. This tip they called the Cape 
of Storms, but King John 11 later renamed it the Cape of 
Good Hope, thinking that there were now good hopes of 
reaching India by an all-water route. 

Need we wonder that Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, 
became the center and school of geographical learning, 
where the most famous navigators, map-makers, and 
scholars of the time met? It was, therefore, to Lisbon 
that Columbus directed his steps. Here he made charts 
and maps for a living, and spent his leisure hours study- 
ing arithmetic, geography, and astronomy. 

In the meantime the sea-captains of Genoa one day 
returned home with empty ships. What had happened? 
The barbarous Turks had conquered Constantinople, and 
Christian sailors could no longer safely pass through the 
Bosporus, or Strait of Constantinople, into the Black Sea 
to Asia. At about the same time Egypt began to ask 
excessive dues for passage over the Red Sea. This made 
traveling by way of the Isthmus of Suez and the Red Sea 
so expensive that Venice could no longer reap any profit 
from her trade with India over this old trade route. Thus 
both of the famous trade routes to the East were suddenly 
blocked. Commerce ceased, and the cities of Italy became 
as miserably poor as they had been exceedingly rich. 
The people of Europe, however, could not well do without 
the rich trade of the East, and they began to ask them- 
selves if some other route could not be opened. 

4. COLUMBUS PROPOSES A WESTV^ARD VOYAGE 
TO THE FAR EAST 

The question of a new trade route to the East was 
earnestly discussed by the learned men gathered in the 



A PATHWAY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 



25 



Portuguese capital of Lisbon. But at that time all the 
wise men of all the world — and they were learned for 
their time — knew less about geography than a nine-year- 
old schoolboy of nowadays. 

Westward from Asia, everybody knew, stretched the 
Sea of Darkness, as the Atlantic Ocean was then called. 
But beyond a little distance none knew what this Sea of 




THE WORLD AS KNOWN IN COLUMBUS \S DAY 

Darkness was or what it contained, for sailors had not 
ventured far westward, fearing they might fall over the 
edge into space or be swallowed up by great whirlpools 
or sea-monsters. 

Columbus, like many of the wisest men of his day, 
thought that the earth is a globe. He was confirmed in 
these ideas by talks with experienced sailors. While in 
Iceland he had been reminded of the voyage of St. Bren- 
dan, and had also heard of the westward sea-travels of 
Leif Ericson. He read and heard of a Franciscan, a 
companion of St. Francis, who had gone as missionary 



26 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

to eastern Asia ; of another Franciscan who had preached 
there some years later. Each of these monks had brought 
back to Europe the news that an open ocean lay to the 
east of China. "This ocean," thought Columbus, "must 
be the same that bounds western Europe." 

Columbus was greatly interested in a book written by 
a renowned Italian traveler named Marco Polo. Polo had 
spent over twenty years in the Kingdom of the Great 
Khan, as China was then called. In his book he told of 
the golden gates, the marble bridges, the grand palaces, 
and other dazzling wealth of its numberless cities. 

Columbus also read and studied a Latin book whose title 
in Enghsh is "The Image of the World." This book, 
written by a learned cardinal of the Catholic Church, 
shows clearly that the scholars of all times, even from 
the days before Christ, thought that the earth is a globe, 
and that eastern Asia lay directly opposite western 
Europe. Is it surprising that a man like Columbus, after 
hearing and reading all these things, should have made 
the bold resolution to seek India by a westward voyage ? 

"If I should succeed in reaching India by a westward 
voyage," said our hero, "I would prove that the earth is 
a globe, and would also open for Europe a short and easy 
route to the riches of the East. Over this new water- 
way the coveted treasures of Asia could be brought to 
the very doors of Europe; and by means of them the 
Holy Sepulchre of our Lord could be rescued from the 
infidel Turks. Who knows but that in this far western 
country live millions of human beings who have never 
heard of God and His love for mankind ? We shall bring 
to them the light of the Christian Faith." 

Such were the motives and such the plans of Columbus 
as he eagerly set about drawing a map of a westward 
route to the shores of Asia. On this map he located a 



A PATHWAY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 



27 



great many guesswork islands in the Atlantic, and a short 
distance beyond these, about where America is, he drew 
the eastern coast of Asia, never dreaming of the existence 
of another continent lying between western Europe and 
eastern Asia. 

While Columbus was still busy at his map, he heard of 
a great astronomer named Toscanelli, living at Florence, 
Italy. Eager to know what this learned man might 
think of his plans, Columbus wrote and asked him what 




TOSCANELLI 's MAP 



he thought of the idea of sailing by a westward route to 
the kingdom of the Great Khan. In return, Toscanelli 
sent Columbus a map and also a letter, in which he assured 
the great navigator that his ideas were correct and that 
he could undoubtedly reach India by sailing west. 

Encouraged by the famous astronomer's letter, Colum- 
bus hastened home from Portugal to tell the people of 
his native town that he would find a new waterway to 
India for them if they would but give him ships and 
money for the purpose. The Genoese people, however, 
were too poor to help Columbus in his enterprise. Be- 
sides, they thought his plans foolhardy and sent him 
away as a worthless dreamer. 



28 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



Columbus then went back to Portugal and laid his plans 
before King John. The king favored the idea of a west- 
ward voyage to India, but did something very unworthy 
of himself: he fitted out a ship and gave the captain the 
charts of Columbus, with orders to sail westward to Asia. 
The captain started out, but the charts and plans of 
Columbus without the great man's faith and courage 

could do him little good. A 
few days of stormy weather 
soon frightened him back 
to Lisbon, where he told 
stories of terrible experi- 
ences and made sport of 
Columbus's ideas. 

Keenly hurt, but not dis- 
heartened, our noble hero 
turned to leave Portugal, 
turned to leave the com- 
pany of its wise and learned 
men who had found it easier 
to teach that the earth is round and that Asia could be 
reached by sailing westward, than to prove these facts 
by an actual voyage. 

His wife, who was a Portuguese, had meanwhile died, 
and there was no longer anything that bound him to 
Portugal. So, taking his little six-year-old son Diego, 
he set forth on foot across the mountains to Spain. He 
sometimes carried the child, sometimes led him by the 
hand, and thus reached Spain. Here he visited a relative, 
an aunt of the little Diego. Leaving the child in charge 
of this good woman, he hastened to seek King Ferdinand 
and Queen Isabella, who were then the rulers of Spain. 

But he had come to Spain at an unfavorable time. The 
country was then in the midst of a long war with the 




CHRISTOPHER COLUMBL'S 



A PATHWAY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 



29 



Moors. These Moors were a Mohammedan people who 
had passed from Arabia into northern Africa, and thence 
across the Strait of Gibraltar into Spain. The Spaniards 
were at the time slowly, though surely, driving off these 
infidel people. But King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella 
were moving about with the army from camp to camp, 
and Columbus could not expect them to give much atten- 
tion to his pleadings. 
Nevertheless, he one 
day succeeded in see- 
ing the Queen at Cor- 
dova. He explained 
his charts and plans 
to her. 

"If Spain will help 
me in this undertak- 
ing," said he to Queen 
Isabella, "I will not 
only open a rich trade 
for her with the East, 
but will add a new em- 
pire to her kingdom." 

The pious and beau- 
tiful Queen Isabella was a learned, zealous woman. She 
understood Columbus, was pleased with his ideas and 
plans, and felt confident that he would successfully carry 
out what he had promised if he were given the necessary 
help. She knew, however, that Spain had become poor 
by her long war with the Moors, and that the govern- 
ment would not be willing to risk money on what it might 
consider a foolhardy enterprise. Notwithstanding, she 
asked a council of learned men to say what they thought 
of the ideas of Columbus. These men declared that it 
seemed quite impossible to reach India by a westward 




QUEEN ISABELLA 



30 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

route. As a result, the Spanish court would neither con- 
sent nor refuse to assist Columbus. The Queen, however, 
promised him that she would again take up the matter 
in earnest after the war was over. 

Though greatly disappointed, Columbus resolved to wait 
patiently. But day after day, month after month, and 
year after year passed in weary waiting. The good man 
became poorer and poorer, and his hair was fast turning 
gray. Many began to look upon him as a fool. 

"You claim that the earth is shaped round like a ball," 
said they to him. "If it is, tell us, can a ship sail up-hill ? 
Do the people on the other side walk on their heads? 
Why don't they drop off? Do the rain and the snow fall 
upward ? Do the trees grow with their tops downward ?" 

Even the children tapped their foreheads and smiled 
meaningly when they met the great man on the street. 
Can you see the noble, tall, and powerful form of Colum- 
bus, his calm, thoughtful face, as he passed along with 
his long gray hair streaming in the breeze? Could the 
insults of a rude, ignorant people render this noble man, 
with his great heart and lofty thoughts, less noble? 

Notwithstanding, our hero was often heart-sick over 
his long waiting. He finally visited the King and Queen 
once more in camp, but again received no decisive, not 
even a hopeful answer from them. He had waited and 
pleaded for eight long years in Spain, and, tired of trying 
to do anything further in this country, he now made up 
his mind to seek a home either in France or England, with 
the hope of securing help in one of these countries. 

One day our hero and his youthful son Diego were 
walking along a road leading over a high bluff. On 
the top of this bluff, overlooking the sea, stood a Fran- 
ciscan monastery called La Rabida. Weary and hungry, 
the two travelers sat down to rest near the convent gate. 



A PATHWAY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 



31 



The good Fathers invited the strangers in and gave them 
food and drink. The learned prior, Father Juan Perez, 
became greatly interested in the noble traveler, and the 
latter finally told him all about his plans and also of his 
failure to interest the Spanish government in them. 

The worthy prior v^as well acquainted with the Queen. 
Mounting his mule, he made a long journey of two hun- 
dred miles to Granada, where he called upon his royal 




COLUMBUS 'S ROOM AT LA RABIDA 



friend and so earnestly pleaded the cause of Columbus 
with her that she at once sent for the great navigator. 
The latter arrived at Granada in time to see the last 
crescent flag lowered, and a glittering silver cross raised 
in its stead upon the highest tower of the Alhambra, 
the beautiful castle of the Moorish king. 

Now that the war had come to such a happy close, the 
King and Queen were willing to listen to Columbus. They 
favored his plans and seemed inclined to help him. But 
when the King asked Columbus on what terms he would 
make the voyage, the latter said that he wished to be 



32 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



made admiral of the ocean and governor of all the lands 
he should discover; and, also, to receive one-tenth of all 
the gold and other wealth that might be acquired. These 
were strong demands for the son of a poor wool-comber, 
and the King rejected them. 

The great Genoese now left the Spanisn court with the 
intention of setting out for France at once. He was sadly 




COLUMBUS BEFORE QUEEN ISABELLA AT GRANADA 

disappointed, it is true, but was determined, nevertheless, 
to hold his claims and still carry out his plans. He had 
not gone many miles from Granada before he was over- 
taken in a pass of the mountains by a messenger from 
the Queen, who summoned him back to court. 

"I have my own little kingdom of Castile," said Isabella 
to him, ''and if the King feels that he cannot risk the 
money of the kingdom of Aragon on a seemingly fool- 
hardy undertaking, I am willing to pay a large part of 
the expenses of your voyage from my own treasury. I 
shall even gladly give up my jewels to help you, should 
this be found necessary." How much we owe to good 



A PATHWAY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 33 

Queen Isabella, who thus made it possible for Columbus 
to find a New World ! 

The demands of Columbus were now granted, and one 
of the most important papers that ever held an agreement 
was signed by the sovereigns and their new admiral. With 
gracious thoughtfulness, the Queen appointed the boy 
Diego one of the pages of her court — a rare honor usually 
bestowed only on the sons of the highest nobles. Deeply 
grateful, Columbus knelt to kiss the hand of the noble 
Isabella, and then hastened away to the distant seaport 
town of Palos. How happy he must have been to find 
himself thus on the road to success after nearly twenty 
years of opposition, disappointments, and weary waiting! 

The people of Palos were ordered by the Spanish govern- 
ment to supply Columbus with ships and sailors. They 
received the news with dismay. "Surely," said they, 
"neither ships nor sailors will ever return." 

5. COLUMBUS SAILS ON A WESTWARD VOYAGE 

Three boats were finally fitted out and manned with 
crews of unwilling sailors, many of whom had been re- 
leased from prison for the purpose of joining the enter- 
prise. Two of the ships were of the kind called caravels — 
light vessels something like our ordinary masted schooner 
used in coasting trade. Of the three ships, the Pinta 
was the fleetest, and the Nina the smallest. Neither of 
these two vessels was decked. The largest of the three 
ships, the Santa Maria, was decked and served as the 
Admiral's flagship. The sails of the vessels were rich 
in color, with designs of the cross, images of the suffering 
Christ, and the arms of Spain painted upon them. 

The three vessels were lying in the harbor of Palos for 
some days, waiting a favorable wind to carry them west- 
ward. Shortly after midnight on the morning of August 



34 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

3, 1492, came this favorable wind. Father Juan Perez 
hastened to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the 
monastery of La Rabida. Columbus and his crew of 
ninety men assisted and received Holy Communion. 

One-half hour before sunrise, Columbus ordered the 
sails to be unfurled in the name of Jesus Christ, and the 
little west-bound fleet pushed out to sea and sped on its 
dangerous voyage, followed by the doubts, fears, and 
prayers of those on shore. 

On losing sight of the last traces of land, the courage 
of the sailors began to fail. The idea that they were now 
entirely separated from all most dear to them — country, 
home, and friends — made them feel much like men who 
are condemned to death. For a few days the vessels glided 
smoothly along. Then a slight storm came up, in which 
the Pinta lost a rudder. Perhaps the sailors broke it off, 
thinking that Columbus might leave them behind and 
thus give them an opportunity to turn back. 

The fleet was, however, nearing the Canary Islands. On 
reaching them, Columbus landed and mended the rudder 
of the Pinta. He also repaired a sail of one of the other 
vessels. Then the navigators again continued climbing 
up the water hill of the world and sliding down on the 
other side, as they thought. Just when the Canaries were 
fading out of sight, the sailors were terrified to see fire 
and smoke and hear a noise like thunder coming from 
the islands. Columbus quieted their fears by explaining 
that the fire and smoke and thunder were caused by an 
eruption of some volcano on the Canary Islands. When 
this island group, the last-known land to the west, finally 
disappeared altogether, the navigators felt sure they were 
plunging down-hill into 

A world of waves, a sea without a shore, 
From which they surely could return no more. 



A PATHWAY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 35 

One day they noted that the needle of the compass was 
no longer pointing directly to the north star, and their 
fears increased. The change in the magnetic needle, which 
we can now easily account for, led them to fear that the 
bewitched instrument might be leading them into de- 
struction to punish them for their foolhardy undertaking. 
Though greatly puzzled himself, the Admiral told his 
sailors that the needle of the compass had not changed, 
but that the north star had changed its position in the 
sky, in the same manner as many other stars do. Fortu- 
nately, these faint-hearted men had great faith in the 
Admiral's superior knowledge of these matters, and they 
were quite satisfied with his explanation. 

But before long the ships struck into a vast region of 
floating seaweeds resembling an endless green prairie. 
To add to the trouble, the wind suddenly ceased to blow, 
and the boats stood for some days without 

"nor breath nor motion ; 
As idle as a painted ship 
Upon a painted ocean." 

A long rope with a heavy weight was quickly let down 
into the water, but it did not reach the bottom. "So you 
see we are not run aground," said Columbus. 

"Then we must be close to the edge of the earth, and 
will suddenly fall off into space," screeched some of the 
men, frantic at the mere thought. As if to have pity on 
these cowardly mariners, a strong breeze filled the sails 
and carried the vessels once more into clear waters. 

A number of times the navigators saw a mirage, 
or false appearance of land, such as is sometimes 
caused by the effects of the light and heat of the 
sun upon the air. Each time a joyous alarm was given, 
and the crews passed through alternate fits of joy and 
dejection. They at length became day by day more sullen 



36 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



and threatening. One of the wretched men even hinted 
that it would be an easy thing for them to push Cokimbus 
into the sea and return home, saying that the Admiral had 
slipped and fallen overboard while gazing at the stars, as 
he was wont to do. The treacherous suggestion might 
have been carried out had not all on board felt that they 
should need Columbus to bring them back home safely. 
One evening when the three ships had drawn closely 




SANTA jMAKIA 



together to sing the Salve Regina, as they were accus- 
tomed to do at nightfall, all the men on board the Pinta 
and the Nina suddenly leaped upon the deck of the Santa 
Maria. In the twinkle of an eye, the three united crews 
surrounded the Admiral. With furious looks and upraised 
swords, they demanded of him that he return at once to 
Spain. What a trying moment this must have been for 
Columbus! But he stood unflinching in their midst and 
boldly declared: "I have started out in search of the 
Indies, and nothing can induce me to turn back until,, with 



A PATHWAY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 37 

the help of Heaven, I shall have reached the shores of the 
land that I am seeking." Strange to say, not one of that 
enraged company dared touch the fearless speaker. With 
manly courage and unfailing trust in God, he now gently 
quieted their rebellious spirits. He asked them to thank 
God for having led them thus far safely through waters 
which had never been sailed before. He also assured them 
that land was near. 

In truth, land was near. A flock of land-birds was one 
day seen flying toward the southwest. Soon there were 
other unmistakable signs of land, such as floating logs, 
carved sticks, and thorny branches with red berries. The 
crews now gave way to the wildest excitement, and ninety 
pairs of eyes were strained day and night to catch the 
first sight of land. 

One evening Columbus saw a light moving in the dis- 
tance, as if someone were walking along the shore with 
a torch. At two o'clock that night, on Friday, October 12, 
1492, one of the sailors way up in the masts of the Pinta 
saw distinctly a long, low coast ahead which was brightly 
lit up by the moon. 

He at once burst forth in the loud cry, "Land ! Land !" 
The report of a gun immediately announced the happy 
news to the rest of the boats. Who can describe the feel- 
ings of Columbus and his band of sailors when, after that 
long ten weeks' voyage, a great stretch of seashore lay 
before their eyes. With exultant joy they fell upon their 
knees, thanking and praising God. 

The rising sun revealed a low, sandy island which was 
one of the Bahama group, now known as Watling Island. 
As the ships drew nearer, the mariners found the shore 
exceedingly beautiful. Orchards of unknown trees bore 
an abundance of many kinds, of fruits. There were bright, 
fragrant flowers and climbing vines. The ocean waves 



38 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

rolled gently upon the sandy beach. The air was pure 
and fragrant, and the skies were blue and cloudless. 



G. COLUMBUS FINDS STRANGE COASTS 

Columbus gazed with deep, silent happiness upon the 
fair new land which he had so often pictured to himself, 
and which he found even more beautiful than he had ever 
dreamed it could be. His noble heart beat fast with joy, 
while his thoughts rose to heaven in grateful prayer. He 
clad himself in a splendid uniform of scarlet and gold. 
Then, with the royal banner of Spain in one hand and 
his own white, swallow-tailed flag with the cross and 
crown in the other (See frontispiece), he joyously went 
ashore, followed by all on board. With streaming tears 
he fell upon his knees adoring God, and three times kissed 
the soil of the new land to which Providence had so 
wonderfully directed him. The sailors followed the 
example of their Admiral. They, too, were deeply 
touched. 

Picture our hero at that moment. How noble he looked 
as he arose and stood with the bright light of the morning 
sun full upon him ! He planted the royal banner of Spain 
with the usual ceremonies of the Church ; and, while its 
splendid colors unfurled to the breezes for the first time 
on that distant shore, he solemnly offered the new land 
to the Holy Trinity and took possession of it for Ferdi- 
nand and Isabella. A large cross was also erected, and 
the island named San Salvador, or Holy Savior. 

Next the Admiral called upon his sailors to promise 
him submission as the representative of the King and 
Queen of Spain. This they willingly did, for, fancying 
that princely wealth and horrors would now come to them 
through their great leader, they most eagerly wished to 



A PATHWAY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 



39 



please him. Wild with joy, they pressed around him, 
some embracing him, others throwing themselves upon 
their knees before him, kissing his hands and his clothes, 
and begging pardon and favors from him. 

Meanwhile a multitude of copper-colored, half -clad men, 
women, and children had been looking on with timid 
wonderment from behind trees and bushes. They thought 
that the three ships were huge, white-winged birds which 




LANDING OF CMDLUMBUS 

had brought the newcomers down from heaven. By and 
by they approached shyly and touched and felt of the 
strangers to make sure that they were real. Then they 
freely offered balls of cotton yarn, tame parrots, and gold 
ornaments to the Spaniards in return for glass beads, 
small bells, and other shiny trinkets. 

Columbus noted with joy that these strange people, so 
unlike any he had ever seen, were a gentle race who would 
readily be won over to Christianity. Thinking that he 
had reached India, he called them Indians. 

But had Columbus really reached India and landed on 



40 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



an island off the eastern coast of Asia? Surely these 
dusky people were not clad in India's richly-dyed silks, 
or adorned with India's costly rubies and pearls. And 
though the air was full of pleasant odors, no fragrant 
spices grew on the trees and bushes, Columbus was 
somewhat puzzled, but believed, nevertheless, that he was 
in the ocean which the two Franciscans had said was east 
of China, and which Marco Polo had described as crowded 
with thousands of spice-producing islands. 




MAP SHOWING ROUTE OF COLUMBUS 'S FIRST VOYAGE 

The great discoverer cruised from island to island, 
everywhere raising his voice in praise and thanksgiving 
to God, planting the cross, and taking possession of the 
land for Spain. He named one island St. Mary of the 
Conception, another Fernandina, and still another Isabella, 
He coasted for a number of days along the northeastern 
shore of what is now Cuba, and was greatly delighted with 
the beauty of the scenery. "This must be Cathay!" he 
exclaimed in an outburst of joy. Were his dreams of 
many years really becoming true? Was this at last the 
reward of his patient toil and waiting of nearly one-fifth 
of a century ? 

Having with him a friendly letter from the sovereigns 
of Spain for the Great Khan, he at once sent two runners 
to seek the famous eastern ruler. The two explorers 
found neat villages with spacious houses around which 



A PATHWAY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 41 

lay fields of corn, potatoes, and tobacco — three plants until 
then unknown to Europeans. 

The two travelers were surprised to see the natives 
form the large leaves of the tobacco plant into rolls 
resembling cigars. These rolls they called tabaccos 
and smoked them with delight. The strangers also 
passed vast fields of growing cotton and saw heaps 
of cotton yarn waiting to be woven into coarse cloth 
or knotted into large nets which were hung between 
trees or posts. These suspended nets the Indians called 
hamacas and slept in them at night. It is therefore from 
the Indians that the white men have learned to smoke 
tobacco and to use the hammock. 

When the two Spaniards returned to the ships and re- 
ported what they had seen, Columbus was both interested 
and puzzled. Where, thought he, are the great cities with 
their towering palaces of gold and marble ? Where is the 
home of the Great Khan ? Where the wealth of silks and 
jewels and spices? 

Poor Columbus! He did not know that the cities for 
which he was searching were on the other side of the 
globe, nor that the Great Khan and his heirs had long ago 
been exiled from their kingdom. The ports of China had 
long since been closed against strangers, and Columbus 
could not have entered them if he had come upon them. 

Columbus thought, however, that Cuba was China, and 
that, therefore, Japan must lie to the eastward. Accord- 
ingly, he set out in search of the island, and came upon 
our present Haiti. He was charmed with the grandeur 
of its mountain scenery. It had numerous lakes and 
rivers, about which flourished endless varieties of trees, 
some so tall that they seemed to touch the stars. Deli- 
cious fruits and fragrant flowers grew in rich profusion, 
and birds of many kinds were singing in December. 



42 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



"This is surely Cipango," exclaimed Columbus, and, 
since it quite resembled the more beautiful provinces of 
Spain, he named the island Hispaniola, or Spanish Land. 
The great discoverer might have continued his explora- 
tions for some time longer but for a grave mishap: The 

Santa Maria ran upon a 

sand -bank and was beaten 

to pieces by the wind and 

the waves. The Pinta had 

treacherously sailed away 

k^ -Til^^—gaiir JM™" ^ some time previous and had 

IliN^ , ' ■' t.^^ not again returned. Now 

■^ — ^-fe that only one of the vessels, 

the frail and undecked Nina, 
was left, Columbus began to 
feel alarmed. "What a misfortune," said he, "if we should 
all be obliged to remain here and the news of our wonder- 
ful discovery thus never reach Spain !" 




WRECK OF THE SANTA 



7. COLUMBUS RETURNS TO SPAIN 

Columbus hurriedly constructed a fort on Hispaniola 
with the timber of the wrecked Santa Maria. This fort 
he called Nativity because the island had been discovered 
on Christmas day. Leaving a settlement of forty well- 
armed volunteers with provisions for a whole year, Colum- 
bus and the remainder of his sailors went on board the 
Nina. 

The Nina had not gone far when its crew was sur- 
prised to sight a ship in the distance. It was the Pinta. 
At the request of its repentant captain, its crew came 
once more under the command of Columbus. After the 
two vessels were well on the way, a storm arose and 
raged with such violence that the two frail boats were 



A PATHWAY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 43 

in great danger of being dashed to pieces. The frightened 
sailors prayed loudly to Heaven for help, vowing, if their 
lives were spared, to go in solemn procession to the near- 
est shrine of Our Lady at the first port they should enter. 

Fearing that his ship might be wrecked and the knowl- 
edge of his discoveries never reach Europe, Columbus 
hastily wrote two accounts of his voyage. These he 
wrapped in cloth and enclosed in large cakes of wax, 
placing each into a barrel, which he sealed securely. One 
of the barrels was thrown into the sea and the other set 
upon the stern of the vessel, that it might float away in 
case the ship should go down. The great man thought 
that at least one of the barrels might be drifted to the 
coast of Europe and there be found and opened and the 
story of his discovery thus be made known to the world, 
even though he and his crew should be lost. After the 
storm had ceased, Columbus was grieved to find that the 
Plnta had again disappeared. He feared that the vessel 
had been wrecked and that its crew had perished. 

Scarcely had the sea become calm once more when 
another gale came up and raged with terrible fury. 
Nevertheless, the storm-tried Nhia finally carried her 
crew safe and unharmed into the harbor of Palos on a 
Friday afternoon of March, 1493. The people hastened 
in joyful throngs to meet the incoming vessel and wel- 
come the mariners home, while the convent bells of La 
Rabida, joined by other bells of the city, pealed forth a 
gladsome greeting. 

While the bells were yet ringing, the Pinta, too, sailed 
into the harbor with the Admiral's flag floating proudly 
from her main mast. The vessel cast anchor side by side 
with the Nina. Was her captain glad to find the ship of 
Columbus safely anchored in the harbor? Alas, no! The 
storm had driven his vessel into the Bay of Biscay. From 



44 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

there the wretched man had written a letter to the King 
and Queen in which he claimed for himself the honor of 
all that had been done, and asked the favor of calling at 
court to give a full account of the discovery. 

When he entered the harbor of Palos, the Nina lay hid- 
den by a bend in the river so that he could not see her until 
close upon her. How miserably wretched the man must 
have felt at the unexpected sight of the Nina, which he 
thought lay at the bottom of the sea ! He crept from the 
Pinta and hastily made for the shore in a small boat, 
whence he slunk away as quickly as possible. The shame 
of his conduct was more than he could bear and he died 
suddenly a few days later. 

How happy Columbus and his companions must have 
felt to be home again ! Home again after such unheard-of 
experiences! Home again in full number! In full num- 
ber? Yes; the Nina and the Pinta had together brought 
back every man belonging to Palos. Of the volunteers 
who had remained at Fort Nativity, not one was a native 
of the city. Remembering the vow made during the 
storm, these weather-worn men formed in rank and 
marched in procession to the Franciscan convent of La 
Rabida. Father Juan Perez said the Mass of Thanksgiv- 
ing and the whole crew assisted with sincere devotion and 
heartfelt gratitude. 

As soon as King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella heard 
that the great Admiral had arrived, they summoned him 
to court at Barcelona. What a gallant sight it must have 
been to see the great discoverer seated in almost royal 
splendor on the King's horse, heading a great procession 
through the very streets where once he had walked poor 
and friendless. Then the people looked upon him as a 
madman ; now they shouted his praises as the great finder 
of a path across the Atlantic to the Indies. 



A PATHWAY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 45 

But the greatest honors which came to our glorious hero 
were those showered upon him by the Spanish sovereigns 
and their court. All the noble company — the King and 
Queen, the courtiers, the great nobles of Spain, and the 
youthful page Diego — arose when Columbus drew near. 

Kneeling, the Admiral respectfully kissed the hands of 
the sovereigns who directed him to a seat in their pres- 




COLUMBUS BEFORE THE SPANISH COURT 
AFTER HIS FIRST VOYAGE 



ence, nor would they reoccupy their golden thrones until 
they saw Columbus seated. Such distinctions as these 
were then shown only to kings and queens. 

With gentle dignity, the Admiral told the story of his 
wonderful voyage. He vividly pictured the beauty and 
described the strange products of the lands which he had 
found. The seven gaily-painted and strangely decorated 
Indians whom he had brought along were objects of great 
interest to all, especially to the Queen. The sample prod- 



46 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

ucts of the new land — gold, brightly-colored birds, cotton, 
tobacco, and potatoes — also excited much curiosity. 

But surely these Indians and the potato and tobacco 
plants which they taught us to use and cultivate were not 
the treasures of the East which Columbus had gone out to 
seek. Nevertheless, the Indians were but a few of the 
multitude of human beings in the New World whose souls 
were precious treasures to be won for heaven. Tobacco 
and the potato have since been of greater value to the 
civilized world than all the dazzling riches of India. 

But did the Spanish sovereigns and their. court believe 
that Columbus had really been in India? They did, for 
he told them that he believed the northeastern coast of 
what is now Cuba to be the eastern extremity of China; 
that our Haiti was the island of Japan ; and that the num- 
berless other islands which he had seen were some of the 
islands described by Marco Polo. All that he said corre- 
sponded so well with the then-known geography of China, 
Japan, and the Indies that no one thought of doubting that 
Columbus had really found a short, all- water route to India. 

The Admiral acknowledged that he had not yet come 
upon the golden and marble palaces, the costly silks, the 
preciotis jewels, nor the fragrant spices of India, but 
he thought that he had been very near them and would un- 
doubtedly find them on a second voyage. The prize for the 
first sight of land was awarded Columbus because he had 
seen the moving light upon the shore. 

Then Isabella rose, 
With face illumined: then overcome with joy 
She sank upon her knees, and king and court 
And nobles rose and knelt beside her, 
And followed them the sobbing multitude ; 
Then came a burst of joy, a chorus grand, 
And mighty antiphon — 

"We praise thee, Lord, and, Lord, acknowledge thee. 
And give thee glory! — Holy, Holy, Holy!" 



A PATHWAY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 47 

8. THREE MORE WESTWARD VOYAGES 

Now that Columbus had proved that one could sail up 
and down the water hill of the world without falling off, he 
found no trouble in getting men and money for a second 
voyage. This time he started out with seventeen ships 
and fifteen hundred men on board, twelve of whom were 
missionaries. Among thfe latter was also found the ever 
loyal friend of Columbus, Father Juan Perez. Three of 
the vessels were large store-ships and were laden with 
horses, mules, and other animals; also with seeds and 
roots of many kinds of plants. Columbus this time in- 
tended to start a permanent settlement on Haiti. 

The expedition reached Haiti after a pleasant voyage of 
sixty-three days. Here a gloomy welcome awaited the 
newcomers. The colony of the Nativity had been entirely 
destroyed, not one man remaining to tell what had hap- 
pened. A number of corpses were dug up near the fort, 
which had been pulled down and partly burned. Columbus 
built a new fortification some miles distant from the site 
of Fort Nativity and founded the first Christian town in 
the New World, which he called Isabella. 

It may be interesting to know that the Indians were as 
much alarmed when they one day unexpectedly saw a rider 
on horseback as the skraelings of the Northmen were 
when the bellowing steer burst from the woods. They 
thought that the rider and horse were one being and 
when the rider leaped from the back of the horse, they 
were terrified, thinking that the one creature had sepa- 
rated into two. They feared also that the horse might eat 
them up, and we are told that hundreds of hostile Indians 
would flee before a single man on horseback. 

One would wish that the story of Columbus might end 
here, for the remainder of it is sad indeed. With the sec- 



48 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



ond landing of Columbus on Hispaniola began the worst of 
his troubles. The management of the little colony of Isa- 
bella became a trying task for the good man. The new 
settlers were disappointed when they did not find the 
wealth and fortunes they had promised themselves, and 
became extremely discontented and unruly. To make mat- 




RUINS AT ISABELLA 



ters still worse, some of the Spanish officers at court and 
also in Hispaniola, were jealous of the honors shown 
Columbus. They encouraged the colonists to rebel against 
him and to complain about him to the King and Queen. 

How well these wretched officers succeeded in their 
wicked work may be seen from the following incident : A 
crowd of rude men, just returned from Hispaniola, were 
one day gathered in the courtyard of the Alhambra. 
Loudly cursing Columbus, they followed after the King, 



A PATHWAY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 49 

and, catching hold of his robes, they cried, "Pay us! 
Pay us !" Is it surprising that Columbus finally lost favor 
with his sovereigns ? He, however, speedily regained their 
esteem and confidence on his return to Spain. 

Columbus soon sailed on a third voyage to the land 
which he had found. He continued his explorations and 
discovered several more islands. He also touched for the 
first time upon the American continent near the mouth 
of the stream now known as the Orinoco River. But his 
troubles kept on increasing. Even the King and Queen 
were beginning to feel disappointed because he did not 
find the riches of Asia. Besides, a Portuguese named Da 
Gama had meanwhile sailed around Africa to India and 
brought back a wealth of treasures from the East. 

"Why did not Spain seek this new route to India instead 
of trying to get there by crossing the Atlantic?" asked 
the enemies of Columbus. 

The charges brought against Columbus became so seri- 
ous that the Spanish sovereigns sent an officer named 
Bobadilla to examine matters. This wicked man put 
Columbus in irons and sent him home in chains. Imagine 
the great, the noble Columbus in irons — chained like the 
meanest criminal! The master of the ship was shocked 
at the sight and wanted to remove the chains. "No, 
no," said Columbus. "They shall not be taken off 
unless the King command that it be done. I will keep 
these iron fetters for the rest of my life as relics of the 
reward I am receiving for my services." 

When the noble prisoner arrived in Spain, the whole 
nation was indignant at the insult offered him. Ferdinand 
and Isabella ordered that the chains be removed immedi- 
ately. When Columbus met the Queen and saw tears in 
her eyes he threw himself upon his knees before her and 
wept and sobbed aloud. But he was still the great strong- 



50 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

hearted Columbus, He still meant to reach India by' a 
westward voyage, even though Da Gama had reached it 
by sailing around the Cape of Good Hope. 

We, therefore, find our hero making a fourth and last 
voyage across the Atlantic. This time he cruised along 
the coast of what is now Central America. On the Isthmus 
of Panama, which he named Darien, he found the Indians 
wearing whole plates and large pieces of gold hanging by 
cords from their necks. These Indians told Columbus 
that the land along which he was coasting was narrow and 
that another large body of water lay on the other side of 
it. Columbus understood them to mean a narrow strait 
instead of a narrow land and became much excited. 

"I will find that narrow channel," said he, "and through 
it sail into the waters beyond, which must be the Indian 
Ocean. I will yet find a way to the riches of the East." 

He did not know as we know now that on the other side 
of the narrow strip of land lay the mighty Pacific. As it 
was, he continued his- explorations for some time longer, 
ever hoping but never succeeding, of course, in finding 
any proofs that he had reached India. Finally, after a 
year of frightful hardships and dangers, he returned to 
Spain only to find the noble Queen Isabella on her death- 
bed. She died a few weeks later. Father Juan Perez had 
also died ; and with the death of these two noble persons, 
the best friends of Columbus and the only protectors of his 
rights and good name had passed away. 

Our hero was now in very feeble health and after 
eighteen months more of trials and sufferings, we find him 
resting upon his death-bed at Valladolid. Imagine him 
lying in his lonely chamber, the bare walls of which were 
adorned only with the chains which had once held him as a 
prisoner. About him were gathered his two sons, a few 
Franciscan Fathers, and some friends. His great mind 



A PATHWAY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 51 

was still clear and strong ; his thoughts were on Heaven. 
Full of faith and hope and love, conscious to the last, the 
great discoverer died with the words, "Into Thy hands, 
O Lord, I commend my spirit." 

Thus passed from the scenes of this life, Christopher 
Columbus. He had sought India by a westward route, but 
found a mighty continent instead. The memory of his 
marvelous achievement shall live forever, and as there is 
but one American continent on our globe, so there is but 
one Christopher Columbus among the heroes of the world's 
history. 

Questions for Thought 

1. Who of the European people were the first to land on the 
North American continent? 

2. Find out all you can about the sagas. 

3. Of what historical value is the story of St. Brendan? 

4. Why did the discovery of North America by the Northmen 
arouse no corresponding interest in Europe, and why did it not 
result in further discovery and in permanent settlement ? 

5. Write an account of the boyhood of Columbus, telling how 
he came to be a learned man and a daring sailor. 

6. What conditions in Europe forced the people to look for a 
new water-route to the East ? 

7. Write in your own words an account telling how the Amer- 
ican continent was incidentally discovered by Columbus. 

8. Describe the landing of Columbus. 

9. Tell what you think might have happened if the Nina, too, 
had been wrecked. 

10. Was Columbus really an unusually great man ? Give rea- 
sons for your answer. 

Selections for Reading 

The Norsemen — John Greenleaf Whittier 

The Skeleton in Armor — Henry Wadsworth Longfellovv 

Columbus — Joaquin Miller 

Christopher Columbus — Eliza Allen Starr 



II 

BALBOA AND MAGELLAN PROVE THAT 
COLUMBUS HAD DISCOVERED A NEW CONTINENT 

1. THE DISCOVERY OF THE PACIFIC 

Columbus had really discovered a hitherto unknown 
grand division of land. But the people of Europe did not 
know this. Though they called the newly discovered 
continent "New World," they named it thus merely be- 
cause it was new and unexplored. For they still beheved 
that Columbus had found India and the long-sought all- 
water route leading to it. Great numbers of Spaniards 
soon followed the pathway across the Atlantic and built 
new homes and towns, a little New Spain, on the islands 
discovered by Columbus, thinking all the while that these 
islands were the East Indies. 

They were, however, greatly puzzled not to find the 
spices, the precious stones, and the silks of India. Thus, 
by and by, people began to think that, after all, Columbus 
had not reached India but had found a large new country 
lying between the Atlantic Ocean and some other great 
sea which they thought washed the shores of Asia. To 
find a passage through this new land and across this other 
great sea to the riches of India became the one ambition 
of every enterprising explorer who crossed the Atlantic. 

Before long, some Spanish sailors cx:3lored the coast of 
the Isthmus of Panama which had been previously dis- 
covered and named Darien by Columbus. They found 
considerable quantities of gold and learned from the In- 
dians that the country contained rich deposits of the pre- 
cious metal. The news caused great excitement in Spain. 

52 



DISCOVERY OF THE PACIFIC 53 

Soon everybody began to talk about making voyages to 
the New World. The ship-builders could not work fast 
enough to supply the ships that were needed. Many peo- 
ple set out with wild hopes to look for gold, while others 
went in search of a passage through the new land. 

When the news that there was gold in Darien reached 
Haiti, a party of eager men set out in two ships for the 
land of promise. This happened about four years after the 
death of Columbus. When the adventurers were well on 
their way, the crew in one of the ships was surprised by 
a great pounding noise in the hold of the vessel. 

"It seems as if the barrels are getting alive," said one 
of the men. And in proof of his statement, one large cask 
rolled and rocked right up to the commander. The top 
of the cask flew off and out leaped a handsome young 
sailor. He shook his velvet cloak and dangling sword into 
place and looked at the interesting group of sailors who 
were gazing at him in dumb surprise. 

"It is Balboa!" cried the captain indignantly. 

"Yes, I am Balboa," was the calm and fearless reply. 

"I'll put you off on the shore of the first desert island 
we come to," said the angry commander. 

"Oh, no, good captain, you won't do that," pleaded 
Balboa. "I can be of help to you. I've been at Darien 
before, and know the country." 

The captain felt that Balboa was right. He knew the 
young man to be a good sailor, a trusty soldier, and a 
clever adventurer, just the man to make the enterprise a 
success. He therefore decided to take the intruder along. 

But who was this Balboa ? And why did he choose this 
strange way of going to Darien ? He was a Spanish noble- 
man who had led a wild, free life, spending and borrowing 
money until he was heavily in debt. Then he came to the 
New World. After cruising about and exploring the coast 



54 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



of Darien until his worm-eaten ship gave out, he went to 
Haiti. Hoping to save enough money to pay his debts, he 
tried farming. Instead of paying his debts, however, he 
added new ones to the old and soon was in debt to nearly 
everybody on the island. To escape prison, he had himself 
taken in a barrel to one of the ships bound for Darien, 
where he was stored among the provisions as salt beef. 




BALBOA BEING CARRIED ON BOAKD IN A BAKKEI. 

The young man was bold, hardy, and reckless, but also 
intelligent, kind-hearted, and unselfish. He was wont to 
do everything in a generous, dashing manner. Do you 
wonder that he soon became a great favorite among the 
sailors? He skillfully piloted the ships to the shores of 
Darien and landed them in a favorable place. Some stray 
explorers from other points on the coast joined the new- 
comers and a httle colony was started. Among those 
who thus joined the party was Pizarro, who later became 
famous as the conqueror of Peru. 

The commander soon found himself unable to govern his 
band of restless adventurers and was glad to return to 



DISCOVERY OF THE PACIFIC 55 

Haiti. The colony promptly chose Balboa as its leader. 
Balboa was anxious to surprise his King with the first gold 
from Darien. So one day he sent his faithful friend 
Pizarro, with six companions, to explore what was said to 
be a very rich gold region. The little band were soon 
fiercely attacked by some Indians. They defended them- 
selves manfully but were finally obliged to flee for their 
lives, and, worst of all, leave a wounded man behind. 

"What an unheard-of shame!" exclaimed Balboa 
angrily. "Must it be said of a Spaniard that he left 
a poor wounded comrade in the hands of savages?" 

"No ! No ! It shall not be !" replied Pizarro. Hasten- 
ing back to the scene of the attack, he soon returned safe 
with his wounded friend. 

On one of his explorations, Balboa visited a certain 
powerful Indian chief who commanded thousands of war- 
riors. His village lay at the foot of a high mountain in a 
vast, beautiful plain. When told that the Spaniards were 
approaching, the chieftain, attended by his five sons and 
throngs of devoted people, hastened to welcome them. 

Balboa and his companions were royally served and 
made to feel quite at home. What surprised them most of 
all was the house of the chief. It was very skillfully built 
of wood and was eighty feet wide and one hundred fifty 
feet long. In it were a great many large chambers. Some 
of these served as store rooms and were filled with bread, 
venison, and various drinks made of maize and roots. In 
a spacious hall were preserved the bodies of the chief's 
dead relatives. These had been dried, richly dressed, and 
adorned with gold and precious stones. They hung all 
along the walls and the Indians regarded them with re- 
ligious veneration. 

The chief's eldest son, a bright, generous young man, 
gave Balboa a large quantity of gold. "Here is our first 



56 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



gold from Darien," said the delighted Balboa. "I shall at 
once weigh out one-fifth of it to our King, and then divide 
the remainder among us." The Spaniards immediately fell 
to quarreling, each one fearing that he might get less than 
the others. The dusky young brave did not know the 
value of gold and could not understand why these white 
people should quarrel about such a trifle. Disgusted, he 




INDIAN VlLLAtili IN IIAKIEN 



struck the scales a blow with his hand, scattering the 
glittering treasure all about the place. 

"Spaniards, you are foolish," said he. "You have left 
your peaceful homes to come and disturb ours ; you are ex- 
posing yourselves to great dangers and sufferings — all for 
only these yellow kernels and lumps of earth. But if this 
yellow stuff is really so precious in your eyes, I can tell 
you where to find an abundance of it." 

"Where? Where? Tell us quickly!" cried the eager 
gold-hunters. 

"Do you see those lofty mountains?" asked the young 
chief, pointing to the south. "From the highest of those 



DISCOVERY OF THE PACIFIC 57 

peaks, you can see a mighty water. The streams that flow 
down into it ghtter with gold, and the chieftains who live 
on its shores eat and drink from golden vessels." 

Balboa could scarcely believe his ears. "A mighty 
water? — It must be the sea that bounds the shores of 
China, Japan, and the Indies !" He was most impatient to 
start out at once in search of that mighty water. 

But before leaving the prosperous Indian village, he saw 
the chief, his sons, and many of his people instructed and 
received into the Church. The ruler was given the name 
Carlos when baptised in honor of St. Charles and in 
compliment to the youthful prince of Spain. 

Balboa now chose about two hundred hardy men, who 
were willing to follow him to the ends of the earth. A 
number cf Indians also joined the party. The chief told 
Balboa that he would need at least one thousand men. 
"For," said he, "you will meet with powerful Indian tribes, 
many of whom are fierce and cruel cannibals." 

"We have not a sufficient number of men," said Balboa, 
"so let us take along a number of blood-hounds instead." 
And patting the head of his own faithful hound, he de- 
clared, "This animal is as good as the best bodyguard to 
me." In truth, the hound never left his master and the 
Indians so feared the dog that they fled at his very 
appearance. 

The fearless party pushed on toward the lofty moun- 
tains pointed out by the young Indian chief. The way 
sometimes led through dense and tangled forests. Count- 
less monkeys chattered in the branches of the trees. 
Brightly colored parrots screeched and scolded at them 
from among the flowers and bushes. Ugly snakes lay 
hissing across their path. 

Sometimes they struggled up a rugged mountain only 
to slide down an awful precipice on the opposite side. Deep 



58 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

and rapid rivers had to be crossed in frail boats or on 
trembling bridges. And many a weary traveler sank dead 
beneath the scorching rays of the tropical sun. Again, the 
explorers met bands of yelling and howling Indians armed 
with slings and war-clubs. But these savages always fled 
in terror as soon as the Spaniards fired upon them or let 
loose their blood-hounds. Only men of iron strength and 
will could have endured and overcome the difficulties which 
thus met Balboa and his companions at every step. 

After traveling for twenty days, the exploring party 
at length came to the foot of a peak from which, their 
Indian guides told them, the great ocean might be seen. 
Balboa could scarcely control his feelings. He climbed 
alone to the top of the mountain, which he reached Sep- 
tember 25, 1513. — And what did he see? Below him were 
rocky cliffs and dense forests and green plains and rush- 
ing streams. — Not the promised water? Ah! Yes! Far 
in the distance it glittered in the morning sun and 
stretched south and west as far as the eye could reach. 
Balboa was speechless with joy. Stretching out both arms 
toward the mighty expanse of water, he knelt upon the 
bare peak and with streaming tears thanked Heaven for 
being the first white man to look upon the new water. 

He then beckoned to his companions who hastily 
ascended the mountain. Balboa pointed to the great water 
and exclaimed, "Behold, my faithful companions ! Behold 
that mighty sea ! Behold the reward for all my toils ! You 
shall all share in the glory of all that is or will be here 
discovered, conquered, and won over to God. Let us 
raise our voices to Heaven in praise and thanksgiving." 

The sturdy adventurers gave vent to their feelings in a 
powerful Te Deum. Can you imagine a grander scene? 
How the mountain-tops must have echoed and re-echoed 
that glorious hymn of thanksgiving! Do you not think 



DISCOVERY OF THE PACIFIC 59 

that God and His holy angels looked with pleasure upon 
that lofty peak in Darien ? 

Gazing far away over the seemingly endless water, Bal- 
boa exclaimed: "How happy King Ferdinand will be 
when he is told of this wonderful discovery ! In his name 
I take possession of the ocean, islands, and surrounding 
country." A huge cross was firmly planted and the name 
of the sovereign of Spain 

cut into the trunks of great " ~ ~ ~~ n 

trees. / .^ 

With shouts of joy and ex- S - ' 

ultation, the explorers then 
descended the seaward slope 
of the mountain. After four 
days they reached the shore 
of the great water. A wide ; 
bay extended to the horizon. 
Balboa called it the Gulf of 
St. Michael in honor of the 
feast of the day. The great '^-^^'^^^^ ''tlT..T.fr^^''''' ""^ 
new water was some time 

later named the South Sea because it lay to the south of 
Darien. The tide was out, but it soon returned, rolling 
and surging about the explorers until they stood knee- 
deep in water. Then, raising a sword in one hand and 
a banner of the Blessed Virgin in the other, Balboa again 
took possession of the sea and all that was in it for Spain. 
Three crosses were cut into the trunks of huge trees grow- 
ing near by. These three crosses were to tell all who came 
thither that the great water had been discovered and 
claimed in honor of the Holy Trinity. Balboa promptly 
sent the news of his great discovery to Spain. We are 
told that even at that early time he thought of a canal 
across the Isthmus of Panama. 




60 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

Like Columbus, Balboa too had his enemies, jealous and 
narrow-minded men. Foremost among these was the new 
governor sent from Spain to succeed Balboa. This man 
accused our hero of being an intended rebel. On this false 
charge he had the young man beheaded. 

Balboa died like a true Catholic hero. After having de- 
voutly received the holy sacraments of Penance and Com- 
munion, he ascended the scaffold with a manly step, knelt, 
and calmly laid his head upon the block. One moment 
only, and the illustrious discoverer of the Pacific had 
yielded his soul to God. 

2. THE FIRST VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD 

Part One. Magellan Is Bound for the Spice Islands 
BY a Westward Route 

Columbus discovered what he thought was India; and 
Balboa discovered what he believed to be a new sea. In 
his mind, this new sea was merely a large gulf or bay 
washing the shores of India ; for America seemed to him, 
as it did to many others of that time, merely a break- 
water to protect the rich shores of India against the 
wind and the waves. We know, however, that Balboa 
had discovered the largest of the five oceans, the mighty 
Pacific. But how did we come to this knowledge? 

Five years after Balboa had raised the cross on Darien 
to watch, as it were, over the great new water, a famous 
Portuguese stood at the door of the royal castle of Spain 
asking to see the King. The eighteen-year-old grandson 
of Ferdinand and Isabella, known as Charles I of Spain, 
received him. 

''What is it that brings you to the court of Spain, Fer- 
dinand Magellan?" asked the young King. "How can 
Portugal spare so brave a soldier and so great a sailor ?" 



FIRST VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD 



61 



"I came," said the fiery-eyed Magellan, "to offer you my 
services for which the King of Portugal no longer cares." 

"I understand," said the King, "but how do you mean 
to serve me?" 

"You know, noble King, that since Da Gama has found 
a water route by way of the Cape of Good Hope to India, 
Portugal is growing rich from her trade with the East. I 
have been in the Indies for many years and know what 
great wealth can be gotten by buying spices from the 
natives of the Moluccas, or 
Spice Islands." 

"I am well aware of all 
this, Magellan, but Spain 
cannot expect to enter upon 
a trade over a route and in 
lands that are claimed by 
Portugal." 

"You are mistaken, noble 
King," said Magellan. "See 
this globe made by the 
learned men of my country. 
Here, west of the Cape Verde 
Islands, is the Line of De- 
marcation, fixed by Pope 
Alexander VI. This line ex- 
tends from the north pole to the south pole. As you well 
know, all the newly-discovered lands in the hemisphere 
east of this line are Portuguese possessions and all the 
newly-found lands in the half -world west of this line are 
Spanish possessions. You will note that the Spice Islands 
lie within the Spanish half of the world. Now my plan is 
this: If you will give me ships and men, I will find you 
a route to the Spice Islands which will not interfere with 
the route now followed by Portugal." 




FERDINAND MAGELLAN 



62 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

"My grand-parents, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, 
thought that the voyage of Columbus had found for Spain 
this westward route to the Spice Islands." 

"Yes, I know, but Columbus did not go far enough west. 
I shall finish what he began. I believe that the American 
continent extends south somewhat like Africa. Hence, I 
will follow its coast southward until I can sail around a cape 
like that of Good Hope into the South Sea, discovered by 
Balboa. In that sea must lie the Moluccas, or Spice 
Islands. And to prove that I have opened the way to the 
Moluccas, I shall bring back such loads of cloves and 
ginger and pepper and nutmeg and camphor and opium as 
never yet entered any Spanish port." 

According to Magellan's globe the Moluccas did lie in the 
Spanish half of the world. We, however, know from the 
globes of the present day that these islands were at that 
time on the Portuguese side of the dividing line. 

As it was, the King was delighted with Magellan's ideas 
and plans. "You may have the ships and the men for the 
asking, my good Magellan," said he. "But I pray you, 
make haste and lose no time. You may be sure, the King 
of Portugal will not be willing to have one of the bravest 
of his mariners show Spain the way to the rich store of 
spices in the Moluccas, which, since the golden days of 
Genoa and Venice, only Portugal has enjoyed. He may 
send out his men to waylay and carry you back home." 

Does it not seem strange that Spain and Portugal and 
other commercial nations of those days were so eager to 
trade in spices? We, too, enjoy the spices for the flavor 
they give, but they are not such sources of wealth to us 
as they were to Europeans at the time. The reason is 
quite simple. In our day meat and other food-stuffs can 
be speedily carried from one place to another while still 
fresh. In those times this could not be done, and the 



FIRST VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD 



63 



people either kept their food from spoiUng, or made salted 
meats and partly spoiled foods taste better by the use of 
spices. They greatly relished savory herbs, fruits, nuts, 
seeds, rinds, barks, and roots, which they ground into 
powder and sifted on their choice dishes. A seat at meal- 
time near the spice-box was the seat of honor. Some of 
these spices were also thought to possess healing proper- 
ties and were used as remedies against pains and diseases. 




MAGELLAN'S FLEET 



To supply this great demand for spices, cloves, ginger, 
allspice, nutmeg, pepper, cinnamon, opium, camphor, 
vanilla, and many other aromatic products, some with 
names too hard to remember, were secured from the 
Indies and sold in the European markets at high prices. 
In truth, the spices of India were more eagerly coveted 
than were its silks and gold and precious stones. 

Magellan set about in good earnest getting ready for 
his voyage to the Spice Islands. Five ships were easily 
secured. They were named San Antonio, Concepcion, Vic- 
toria, Santiago, and Trinidad. The last mentioned was 
Magellan's flagship. Though much better than Colum- 



64 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

bus's ships, these vessels were, nevertheless, small, old, 
and not at all fit for a long voyage. A goodly supply of 
provisions was stored away in the holds of the vessels. 

"The natives of the Moluccas," said Magellan, "will not 
give their costly spices for money, but they will load us 
with them for mere shining trinkets." 

Therefore, instead of filling his purse with money, this 
wise sea captain took with him enormous quantities of 
bright-colored cloth, small looking-glasses, scissors, 
knives, fish-hooks, and many kinds of glittering brass 
trinkets; and no less than five hundred pounds of glass 
beads and twenty thousand little bells. 

Magellan was at last prepared to start out upon his 
wondrous journey. After having devoutly assisted at 
High Mass in the church of St. Mary of Victory in Seville, 
he and his crew of nearly three hundred men boarded their 
ships, and sailed down the river to the port of San Lucar. 
From here the brave voyagers put out to sea on September 
20, 1519. 

For two long months they steered southwest. At one 
time there would be scarcely any wind to drive the ships 
along. Then again the wind and waves would become so 
violent that the frail little vessels were in great danger 
of being dashed to pieces. At length, however, the marin- 
ers reached the most easterly point of South America. 
From here they followed the coast southward, entering 
each large bay with the hope that it might be a passage 
to the great ocean on the west. 

But the farther south they went the colder the weather 
became, and the more violent and constant were the 
storms. On the last day of March the little fleet finally 
sought safety in a sheltered bay, now Port St. Julian. Fish 
and birds, and wood for fire being plentiful here, Magellan 
decided to stay until spring. Spring in this latitude, how- 



FIRST VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD 65 

ever, could scarcely be expected before August or 
September. 

Imagine what this long, lonely stay of nearly five months 
in a frigid climate meant for the sailors. As it was, a 
number of them had been prejudiced against Magellan by 
some wily Portuguese, even before leaving Spain. The 
difficulties and long duration of the voyage had sorely 
tried their patience, and their commander had often suf- 
fered much from their insolent behavior. But the idea 
of spending the winter at Port St. Julian, doing nothing, 
was more than they could bear. They began to murmur 
and complain loudly. 

"No one has ever gone farther south than this," said 
they. "To be sure, the land stretches from the north pole 
to the south pole, and if no one has found a strait it is un- 
doubtedly because there is none to be found. Our lives 
are worth more to us than all the spices of the Moluccas. 
Let us return home." 

But Magellan, who had so often encouraged his men and 
calmed their fears, now declared, kindly though firmly, 
that he would never turn back, but go right on until he 
should find either a strait or the end of the continent. 
"Then," said he, "we can push on to the land of spices. 
Would you have it said in Spain that we were cold and 
afraid, and so came home without having found that 
which we went out to seek?" 

The leader's words this time fell upon deaf ears. For 
his worst enemies were the captains of the ships. These 
had led the sailors to distrust him. "This Magellan," said 
they, "is a Portuguese. How richly his Portuguese 
King would reward him if he should lead these five 
Spanish crews into destruction! We can well take care 
of this fleet ourselves. It will be an easy task to attack 
the Trinidad and kill Magellan. Then we shall be free 



66 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

to do as we choose — continue our way or return 
home." 

Only too well did the treacherous sea captains succeed 
in winning over the crews to their own vicious views. On 
the second day after putting into Port St. Julian, a little 
boat of the Trinidad happened to come near the San 
Antonio. It was told curtly to keep away since the San 
Antonio sailors no longer acknowledged Magellan as their 
commander. Magellan promptly sent the boat to each of 
the remaining ships as a test and thus learned the sad 
truth that only the Santiago besides his own crew had 
remained faithful to him. 

Little, however, did the rebellious sea captains know 
the man with whom they were thus dealing. They had 
learned to know him as a man who despised hardships 
and laughed at dangers. They had often been appeased 
by his kind dealings and winning manners ; they had also 
felt the effects of his iron will-power. But they were 
now to meet with a startling surprise. With the sudden- 
ness of a flash of lightning, a band of Magellan's trusty 
men leaped and rushed on board the Victoria, killed the 
obstinate captain, and so frightened the crew that they 
surrendered without delay. 

The combined crews of the three faithful ships then sur- 
prised and subdued the San Antonio in a similar manner. 
The Concepcion was now glad to plead for mercy. Thus 
the mutiny was promptly quelled and the company was 
satisfied to settle down snugly in their boats for the 
winter. 

Part Two. The Spice Islands Are Reached by a 
Westward Route 

One day Magellan and his companions had an amusing 
surprise. A great giant clothed in a llama-skin mantle ap- 
peared dancing and singing upon the shore. This gigantic 



FIRST VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD 



67 



figure with his long flowing hair presented an interesting 

sight indeed. The sailors at once made friends with the 

visitor and invited him on board their ships. Soon other 

natives came to see the newcomers. All of them, even the 

women, were very tall. They averaged about six feet in 

height; some were even taller and few shorter. These 

tall people were good-natured and gentle. Their feet were 

wrapped in skins which made 

them look so over-large that 

the Spaniards called the 

country Patagonia, or the 

land of the clumsy-footed. 

During the course of the 

winter, the Santiago, while 

out on a cruise, was wrecked, 

but her crew was saved, 

though only after frightful 

sufferings. 

At length, toward the 
end of August, the weather 
became somewhat warmer. 
After thoroughly repairing 
the ships and stocking them 
with food supplies, Magellan raised a large cross upon the 
shores of Patagonia and then left Port St. Julian. Sail- 
ing southward, he came upon a mountainous archipelago. 
Smoke and fire rose from the peaks of the largest island, 
so Magellan called it Tierra del Fuego — the land of fire. 
The weather continued stormy and the mariners advanced 
so slowly that they reached the headland still known as 
Cape Virgin only on St. Ursula's day, two months after 
leaving Port St. Julian. 

The little fleet then entered a channel separating Tierra 
del Fuego from Patagonia. After sailing for almost a 




A PATAGOXIAX UP' TuDAY 



68 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

month, Magellan one day said to his companions, "This 
must be the long-sought passage to the great ocean. The 
Moluccas cannot be far away ! Shall we go on ?" 

"No! No!" replied the captain of the San Antonio. 
"Our provisions are again running short. Since we are 
now sure that there is a strait, let us go home." 

Most of the sailors, however, declared : "Let us keep on 
until we reach the goal." 

Magellan said quietly and firmly, "I shall go on and 
keep my promise to the King of Spain even if I shall be 
obliged to eat the leather straps of the ships' rigging." So 
on they sailed for many, many weeks. The San Antonio, 
however, stole away through some side channel and re- 
turned to Spain. 

"How long this channel seems," said the sailors one day. 
"Shall we ever come to the end of it ?" They did not know 
as we do now that the Strait of Magellan, as it has since 
been named, is more than three hundred miles long. Im- 
agine the joy of this tried little band of explorers, when 
on the thirty-eighth day they passed out into the great 
South Sea which Balboa had discovered seven years pre- 
vious. 

When Magellan thus saw his way open to another sea, he 
was so overcome that he wept for joy. He planted a cross 
on the cape from which he first saw the sea, saying, "It 
will direct us if ever we shall come this way again." 

The broad expanse of water seemed so calm and quiet to 
our hero after the many storms through which he had 
passed, that he called it the Pacific, or peaceful ocean. 
"Three more weeks," said he, "and we shall feast on 
the fragrant riches of the Spice Islands." Ah, poor, brave 
Magellan! Little did these navigators realize that the 
worst of their hardships were still before them. The wa- 
ters of the Atlantic were strange to Columbus, it is true, 



FIRST VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD 69 

but the mighty Pacific was utterly unknown to Magellan 
and his hardy little party who were 

"the first that ever burst 
Into that silent sea." 

With his remaining three ships Magellan pushed north- 
ward, away from the Antarctic cold, and then steered west- 
ward. An idea of the huge size of our planet gradually 
dawned upon the weary navigators as they sailed on, on, 
for days, weeks, and months, ever watching the western 
horizon as closely and anxiously as Columbus had done. 
Their sufferings from hunger, thirst, and disease became 
indescribable. They ate almost anything that could be 
chewed or swallowed, even gunpowder and sawdust, and 
the very leather straps of their ships* riggings. Many 
died, and all were sick and on the very verge of despair. 

''Was this earth after all, round ? Would there be an end 
to this journey?" they asked each other. "Was not their 
commander leading them into endless space and miserable 
death?" 

But Magellan, with lion-like courage, pressed forward. 
At last, after three months, on March 6, 1522, they came 
upon a group of islands. Here fruit, vegetables, and meat 
were plentiful. The natives were friendly but proved to 
be such expert thieves that Magellan called the islands 
Ladrones, or islands of robbers, by which name they are 
still known. 

Another week of sailing westward brought the naviga- 
tors to a second group of islands. And for the first time 
in history did the eyes of white men gaze upon what are 
now our Philippines. These islands were thus named 
some years later after King Philip II of Spain. Magellan 
was overjoyed to meet here traders from China and 
other parts of the mainland of Asia. India had at length 



70 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

been reached by a westward route. The great sea cap- 
tain now knew that he had crossed the meridian of the 
Spice Islands, which must, accordingly, lie to the south. 
With intense joy he realized that he could now complete 
his sail around the world without any further difficul- 
ties; for the remainder of his route would be through 
seas which were familiar to him and which he had often 




MAGELLAN MEETING WITH THE NATIVES OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 

traversed for Portugal. Already he saw himself back in 
Spain, the hero of the greatest achievement in the history 
of the world. Poor Magellan ! Instead of pushing on to 
the Moluccas at once, he first tried to win over the natives 
of the various islands to promise that they would obey the 
Spanish King and trade only with the people of Spain. 

He found all the chiefs friendly and willing, except on 
the little island of Mactan. Here tht ruler would not yield 
to his wishes. Magellan tried to conquer the island, but 
he and a number of his men were most cruelly killed by 
the natives. Not for an enormous reward and all the 



FIRST VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD 



71 



glittering trinkets the Spaniards could offer would the 
savages give up the body of Magellan. A monument now 
stands on the spot on which the greatest of sailors, 
Magellan, is supposed to have been slain. 

The Spaniards were now too few in number to take care 
of three ships. Hence they burned the Concepcion and 
then sadly set out southward toward the long-looked- 
for Moluccas. They finally found them and landed with 




ofM'>-'J' 



yl^/i'ort fet.Juliun 

Hft^ti TIERRA DEL FUEGO 



MAP SHOWING MAGELLAN 's VOYAGE AROUND THE GLOBE 

great rejoicing. They bartered their remaining store of 
trinkets and loaded their two little crafts with twenty- 
six tons of cloves. When they hoisted their sails to steer 
homeward they found, to their great disappointment, that 
the Trinidad had sprung a leak and had to be left behind. 
The greater part of her crew died of famine and scurvy. 
The remainder finally fell into the hands of a band of Por- 
tuguese. 

The only remaining vessel, the Victoria, commanded by 
Elcano, crossed the Indian Ocean, rounded the Cape of 
Good Hope, and finally reached Seville, in September of 



72 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

1522, just three years after Magellan had started out on 
his westward voyage. Of the five ships and nearly three 
hundred men, only one ship and eighteen sick and fam- 
ished men came back to tell the sad, though wonderful 
story of the first voyage around the earth. The tried 
little band went at once in solemn procession to the church 
of St. Mary of Victory, here to off"er thanksgiving for 
their safe return. 

Thirty years earlier, Columbus, believing the earth to 
be round, had sailed westward to India, as he thought. 
The voyage of Magellan around the world was the first 
positive proof that the earth is round ; that Columbus had 
not reached India, but had discovered a new continent; 
and that the earth is very much larger in size than any 
one had ever believed it to be. 

Magellan had no near relatives, hence Elcano, who had 
completed the great voyage, was given among other hon- 
ors, a coat-of-arms, representing a globe with the motto : 
"Thou didst first sail around me." But it was Magellan 
who had planned the great voyage and who had directed it 
firmly through the whole unknown part of its route. To 
him alone belongs the glory of the first voyage around the 
world, the greatest that was ever made. 

Questions for Thought 

1. What was the meaning of that grand Te Deum on Darien? 

2. Show on the globe or on the map of the world, by means 
of the Line of Demarcation, that the Spice Islands were in the Por- 
tuguese half of the world and not in the Spanish, as Magellan 
thought they were. 

3. What do you admire most in Magellan as a hero ? 

4. What important facts did the enterprise of Balboa and 
Magellan prove to the world? 



Selections for Reading 



Balboa — Nora Perry 
Darien — Edwin Arnold 



Ill 




iT. IGXACE 



THE STORY OF A GREAT RIVER 

1. A VISITOR FROM QUEBEC AT ST. IGNACE 

On the map of the United States look for two peninsu- 
las of Upper Michigan which approach each other from 
the north and south to within a distance of nearly four 
miles. They project midway between Lake Huron and 
Lake Michigan, whose waters seem to 
be forever playing catch with each 
other through the Straits of Mackinac. 
On the northern peninsula was located 
many years ago the early Jesuit mis- 
sion of St. Ignace, 

The day on which our story begins 
was the feast of the Immaculate Con- 
ception. The little bell of St. Ignace had ceased ringing. 
From the open door of the mission church came the 
sounds of music and prayer. The altar was a blaze of 
light. Before it knelt, with eyes raised to the Sacred 
Host, a Jesuit missionary. About him were gathered 
Indians of the Huron and Ottawa tribes and also a little 
group of French traders and hunters. 

The rudely-built mission churches of those early days 
were often furnished by the kings and nobles of Europe, 
who wished to awaken within the natives love and respect 
for the sacred services. Thus it was with St. Ignace. 
The cope which the missionary wore on this occasion had 
been given by the King of France. The finest of linens 
covered the altar. The monstrance was set with precious 

73 



74 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 




stones and the canopy above it was of purest gold. But 
the greatest surprise was the large organ which filled 
the chapel with sweet music. To its notes the Indians, 
on this particular evening, sang in their own wild way 
the Litany of the Blessed Virgin. 

Among the pious gathering at this Benediction service 
were two of the heroes of this story — the missionary at 
the altar. Father Marquette, and a famous French fur 
trader named Joliet. The former was 
about thirty-six years old. The latter 
was some years younger and was de- 
votedly attached to the zealous young 
Jesuit. The missionary seemed very 
happy about something. His wan face 
was lit up with more than earthly joy. 

"How happy Father Marquette seems 
this evening," said a Frenchman named 
Pierre to Joliet as they sat down to chat 
after having left the httle mission church. "Did you 
bring him such good news from Quebec ? Why, the noble 
priest seemed more in heaven than on earth when he 
walked down the beach in the midst of his noisy flock to 
welcome you ! Come, Joliet, tell me what errand brings 
you here so late in the season. And what has your coming 
to do with our beloved Father Marquette?" 

"First of all, old friend, let me tell you a little about 
the early life and zealous plans of Father Marquette, so 
that you may better understand his happiness this even- 
ing," answered Joliet thoughtfully. 

"This simple, humble priest," he continued, "living in 
the poor, rude surroundings of this American wilderness, 
was born in a grand castle of noble and wealthy parents. 
The family of the Marquettes is one of the oldest and 
most noted in the famous old city of Laon in France. 



INTERIOR OF 
ST. IGNACE 



THE STORY OF A GREAT RIVER 75 

Father James Marquette was well educated, and, even as 
a child, he dearly loved the Blessed Virgin Mary. He 
entered the Society of Jesus when only seventeen. Dur- 
ing the next twelve years of study and teaching, the one 
great wish of his life was to labor and become a martyr 
among the American Indians. 

"His frail body and meek and gentle disposition, how- 
ever, did not seem to fit him for the hardships of the 
American missions. Nevertheless, his ardent wish was 
finally granted. After a stormy and dangerous voyage, 
he reached Quebec in September, 1666. Twenty days 
later he went to Three Rivers, located about seventy 
miles above Quebec on the northern bank of the St. 
Lawrence. This little French outpost was the center of a 
large number of Jesuit Indian missions. Father Mar- 
quette had at last entered upon his life work." 

"His first difficulty," interrupted Pierre, "must have 
been the Indian languages. I have been told that some 
of the learned Jesuit Fathers cannot, with the best of 
study, learn these languages. But Father Marquette, 
I have heard, has learned not only one, but six of them !" 

"Yes," said Joliet, "he studied hard under one of the 
Fathers at Three Rivers. He is especially gifted in this 
respect ; besides, the languages of the tribes bordering 
on the St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes are much alike." 

"But how did Father Marquette get to St. Ignace? 
And what, I ask again, is the cause of his deep, quiet joy 
this evening?" 

"During his two years' stay at Three Rivers, Father 
Marquette not only studied the new languages, but he 
also wandered far and wide through the wilderness visit- 
ing the shifting Indian camps. The experience he thus 
gained, together with his fine command of the Indian 
languages, prepared him well for his chosen work. He 



76 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



was appointed to the Lake Superior missions, the most 
distant outposts of New France. Laboring first among 
the Indians at Sault St. Marie, and then at La Pointe, 
he finally came here to St. Ignace. 

"Of his tireless labors here, you know. He has gone 
about doing good among these wild children of the forest. 
He has taught them lessons of virtue, purity, patience, 

and forgiveness. How hard 
he has tried to win them 
from their foolish supersti- 
tions ! He has baptized hun- 
dreds of dying children, and 
has cheered the sick and 
suffering. Yonder are the 
cabins of his converted 
Hurons and Ottawas. Here 
to the south are the wig- 
wams of some pagan Indians, 
who, though they esteem 
him highly, will not be con- 
verted. 

"Now and then Illinois Indians have come far from 
the southwest. They have told of a mighty river which 
flows through their country and so far away to the south 
that no one knows into what ocean or gulf it empties. 
'Come, great Blackrobe, to our village,' they pleaded. 
'Thousands of Illinois are waiting for you. There are also 
many other tribes living on the banks of the great river. 
Come and tell all the redmen how to pray and how to 
please the Great Spirit.' 

"Here was the field for the boundless zeal of Father 
Marquette," Joliet continued, with his face all aglow. 
"For years the priest has hoped against hope and prayed 
to the Blessed Virgin to help him discover the great river 




FATHER MARQUETTE 



THE STORY OF A GREAT RIVER 77 

and thus meet the numerous Indian tribes dwelling upon 
its banks. At last, today, on the feast of the Immaculate 
Conception, the feast of all the year to him, I bring him 
the news that he has been chosen by his superior, while 
I have been appointed by the governor of New France, 
to discover the Mitchi Sipi, or great river, as the Indians 
call it." 

"Ah," said Pierre, "now I understand why Father Mar- 
quette's great loving heart is overflowing with joy. But, 
Joliet, how do you happen to know all these things about 
the good priest?" 

"I studied a number of years in a Jesuit house at Que- 
bec," said Joliet. "While there I met Father Marquette 
and learned, partly from him and partly from other 
Jesuits, what I have told you." 

While Father Marquette and JoKet were ^waiting for 
spring to come and melt the ice in the Straits, they spent 
their time making plans and learning all they could from 
the Indians concerning the great river. Kneeling on the 
ground with crowds of curious redmen around them, they 
drew a rude map of the Mississippi and the streams flow- 
ing into it, wondering all the while whether it flowed into 
the Atlantic or into the Pacific. They knew that Colum- 
bus had discovered a new continent, but they thought, 
like all other Europeans at the time, that the new conti- 
nent was only a narrow body of land. A river passage 
through this narrow land to a western ocean was still as 
eagerly sought as in the days of Columbus and Balboa. 

"Where do you think the Mitchi Sipi empties?" asked 
a French hunter of Pierre one day. 

"We know," returned Pierre, "that a brave Spaniard 
named De Soto set out over one hundred years ago in 
search of a rich empire. He found neither, but did come 
upon a great river in which he was finally buried." 



78 



OUR COUNT RY IN STORY 



"It is true," said another Frenchman, "De Soto did 
discover the mouth of the great river widening into the 
Gulf of Mexico and named it the River of the Holy Ghost. 
But is that river the same one that Father Marquette 
and Joliet are going to look for? And even if it is, 
no more came from De Soto's discovery than did from 
that of the Northmen. If Father Marquette and Joliet 




THE BURIAI. OF DE SOTO IN THE MISSISSIPPI 

find the Mitchi Sipi they will be the discoverers of this 
stream just as truly as Columbus was the discoverer of 
America." 

Thus the winter months passed away at St. Ignace, and 
the eve of the great day on which Father Marquette and 
Joliet were to start out in search of the great river 
finally came. 

2. ON THE WAY TO THE MISSISSIPPI 

On the morning of his last day at St. Ignace, Father 
Marquette sent for one of the young Frenchmen who was 
to accompany him on the morrow and told him to gather 



THE STORY OF A GREAT RIVER 79 

some lilac blossoms and decorate the altar with them for 
the coming day. 

"Lilacs, in this wilderness, Father?" asked the lad 
surprised. 

"Yes, my boy, when I was a student in France, a mis- 
sionary brought a new plant from the East. After some 
years a great many of these plants lined the college walks 
and filled the air with their fragrance. We did so enjoy 
decorating the altar of the Blessed Virgin with them ! 
At one time, when one of our Fathers left for Canada, 
I gave him a small root, saying, 'Plant it, Father, in that 
distant land. When it will be time for the shrub to bloom, 
I shall join you in your labors.' At Quebec the good 
priest, true to my wishes, gave the shoot to another 
Father who was about to start out for the missions on 
the Lakes. This Father planted it on an island which 
he passed on his way to this mission. While here 
on a visit last year, he told me where to find my lilac 
bush.'' 

The boy hastened to the island where he was attracted 
by a rich fragrance to a whole patch of lilac shrubs in 
full bloom. He cut and carried home a large supply of 
the beautiful blossoms and arranged them on the altar 
for the next morning's Holy Mass. Father Marquette 
knelt late into that night before the altar and his fervent 
prayers rose with the fragrance of the lilacs toward 
heaven. With one great burst of love and trust he finally 
exclaimed, "Immaculate Mother, guide, bless, and protect 
us in the great work which we shall begin tomorrow!" 

Morning came. After Mass the whole of St. Ignace 
thronged to the beach. The Indians had clad themselves 
in their best skins and were gay with feathers and beads 
and dyed porcupine quills. But they seemed unhappy. 
"These Frenchmen," said they, "are going foolishly into 



80 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



danger. Monsters and evil spirits live in that river. Sav- 
age beasts and cruel Indian tribes dwell on its banks." 

The dusky children of St. Ignace were more sorry than 
they could tell to see their beloved blackrobe leave them. 

"Why does he leave us? He 
must not go!" they said 
sadly. "What would the 
gulls do if the lakes were 
without water? What will 
the redmen do without their 
blackrobe?" 

Pierre and the four other 
Frenchmen who were to ac- 
company Father Marquette 
and Joliet had finished the 
final preparations and sat on 
the edge of their canoes 
waiting for the two leaders. 
"There comes Father Mar- 
quette!" called out Pierre. 
"Look at him ! Do you see 
that look of love and peace 
and kindness on his face? 
Is it any wonder that he wins the hearts of all that come 
near him, even of the wildest of savages? But there 
comes Joliet! looking as lordly as if he were Governor 
Frontenac himself. No doubt he wishes to impress every- 
body that this is not merely a voyage of adventure, but 
a government enterprise." 

Father Marquette spoke a few words of loving farewell, 
blessed his faithful Hurons and Ottawas, and, raising the 
cross, he began singing the Litany of the Blessed Virgin. 
At once the whole crowd on the shore joined in and 
continued singing while the two canoes pushed out from 




STATUE OF JOLIET 



THE STORY OF A GREAT RIVER 81 

the shore and sped noiselessly out of sight, stopping only 
to wave a last farewell to the throng of Indians and 
Frenchmen upon the white beach of St. Ignace. Poor 
Hurons ! Poor Ottawas ! You shall never see your gentle 
blackrobe again. 

Let us follow the little party on the map. With 
hearts as light as if upon a holiday excursion, they 
bravely paddled their way through Mackinac Straits into 
Lake Michigan. They soon entered the waters of Green 
Bay. At the mouth of the Menominee River, Father Mar- 
quette pointed out to his companions an Indian village. 
The wigwams were made of birch bark and looked like 
banks of snow among the green trees. "Do you see that 
large cross on yonder hill?" asked he. "It was raised 
by Father Allouez, and there are among these Menominees 
a large number of good Catholic Indians." 

"But see. Father!" exclaimed Pierre, "They are com- 
ing! They seem to know you." 

"Yes, I visited them last year," returned the mission- 
ary. "They may think that I am now coming to stay." 

The Indians welcomed Father Marquette with great 
joy. "Now you will remain with us," they pleaded. 

"I cannot," said the priest. "We are going far to the 
south to find the Mitchi Sipi and to visit the strange 
tribes of Indians living on its banks." 

The Menominees were greatly disappointed on hearing 
this news. "Do stay with us, Blackrobe," they pleaded. 
"Your leaving us is like the setting of the sun when all is 
left in darkness." 

The chief shook his head, saying, "Paleface, go not to 
find this river. Great monsters will swallow up you and 
your canoes. The tribes on its banks are cruel; they 
will take your scalps ; and the great heat in parts of that 
far-away country will bring you certain death." 



82 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

"1 do not fear these distant savages, nor the river 
monsters, nor the scorching heat," said Father Mar- 
quette. "I have been sent by the Great Spirit to teach 
His Indian children to love Him, and I will gladly risk 
my life for a chance to save their souls for heaven." 

The good priest, however, promised them that he 
would visit them on his way back if possible. Then the 
explorers continued down Green Bay and soon entered 
a small stream now known as Fox River. On the banks 
of this river, some distance up-stream, was then located 
a large Indian village. A mission cross stood in the mid- 
dle of it ; for Father Allouez had visited these tribes and 
found them to be a gentle, docile race. Their cabins were 
made of rushes. They raised large crops of Indian corn 
and gathered the abundant wild plums and grapes. 

Three days were spent with these good Indians. "I 
have been sent," said Joliet to them, "by our governor 
to discover new countries. Father Marquette is sent by 
God to teach the Indians to know the great God of whom 
they have never yet heard." 

On departing, the Frenchmen took with them two of 
the redmen to act as guides; for, beyond this village no 
white man had as yet pushed his canoe. Directed by the 
two savages, they slowly paddled their way up the Fox 
River across the large Lake of St. Francis, now called 
Winnebago, and then back again upon the Fox River. 
The little band greatly enjoyed the ever-changing scenes 
along this portion of their voyage. Every now and then a 
turtle dived before their splashing paddles. Numberless 
ducks and blackbirds rose in sudden noisy flight from the 
wild rice swamps. The dainty snipe and the graceful deer 
fled in silent fear, though they had never before heard the 
white man's voice nor the hunter's gun. Groves of birch, 
pine, oak, and walnut lined the banks of the streams. 



THE STORY OF A GREAT RIVER 



83 



At length the river became narrow and almost choked 
with grass and Indian rice. The two guides now helped 
carry the canoes from the narrow sluggish Fox, for about 




+o^-3-(.o-)-o+.LA SALLE 
4- +-(- -|-fATHER HENNEPIN 



MAP OF FATHER MARQUETTE'S EXPLORATIONS 

a mile and a half, across the portage of prairies and 
marshes to the broad, swift-flowing Wisconsin River, 
Then Father Marquette had a supply of food given 
to the two Indians. He also presented each with a 
necklace of beads. They felt richly rewarded for their 



84 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

services and hastened back to their village as happy as 
children. 

Our voyagers stood and gazed in silent happiness upon 
the pure swift stream before them. "We have left the 
tributaries of our Great Lakes which connected us with 
Quebec and our countrymen," said Father Marquette, 
"and we are now about to set out on this strange river 
whose waters have never been disturbed by the paddles 
of a white man. Will it swallow us up in some cataract? 
or carry us to the Pacific Ocean? or to the Gulf of Mex- 
ico? or to the great river which we are seeking? Let us 
thank God for having led us safely thus far, and let us 
ask Him to guide and protect us still." All sank upon 
their knees in silent, earnest prayer. 

The party spent the rest of the day in hunting and fish- 
ing. The fishing was not good, but a number of ducks 
were caught. "Some plump, wild ducks, but no fish. 
Father," said one of the Frenchmen to the missionary 
on returning to camp. 

"You are not as good at it as are the Indians on the 
banks of the Fox," said Father Marquette, smiling. 
"They capture fish and ducks, all in one catch." 

"Tell me how they do it," returned the man, doubting 
the truth of the good Father's words. 

"Come, sit down with me and I shall tell you," said 
Father Marquette. "You must have noted the many bays 
and sluggish waters with their abundance of Indian rice 
on our way up the Fox River. In the fall of the year 
such places become the favorite haunts of wild ducks. 
The Indians, having often seen these birds dive into the 
water in search of kernels of wild rice, stretch nets so 
skillfully that they catch hundreds of fish and nearly as 
many ducks in one night." 

On the following morning our explorers were up and 



THE STORY OF A GREAT RIVER 



85 



astir with the rising sun. "Thus far," said Father Mar- 
quette before embarking, "we have been guided by what 
we heard from others concerning the country through 
which we have passed ; but now that we must be our own 
guides, we need help from heaven. I placed this explor- 
ing voyage under the protection of the Immaculate 
Mother of God before starting. And now that our way 




ALONG THE WISCONSIN RIVER 

is becoming dangerous and uncertain, we need her pro- 
tection more than ever; therefore, let us join in reciting 
each morning the Memorare three times in honor of 
the Immaculate Mother." All knelt upon the sand and 
prayed aloud to Mary Immaculate. And this was done 
every day during the whole voyage. 

The party now entered their canoes, pushed away from 
the land, and drifted rapidly down the beautiful Wiscon- 
sin River. "One does not tire at the pacldles going down 
this stream," said one of the men. "How swift the 



86 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

current ! The skies are so blue, the air is so clear ! How 
beautiful the scenery! See how peacefully the deer and 
buffalo are grazing on these broad prairies and among 
the clumps of trees! How green and rich are the grass 
and shrubs! The air is filled with the music of singing 
birds and humming insects. Behold those showers of 
flowers of every kind and color!" 

3. DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI TO THE ARKANSAS 

On, on they floated for a week until on June 17, 1673, 
a little more than a century before the Declaration of In- 
dependence, the last waves of the Wisconsin carried them 
into the broad, sweeping current of the great river of 
the New World, near the present site of Prairie du Chien, 
Wisconsin. "We gazed with rapture," writes the gentle 
Father Marquette, "with a joy that I cannot express, 
upon one of the noblest scenes in America." They had 
found the great Mississippi. And, extending his hands 
over the water, the priest said in slow and solemn words, 
"This river I call the River of the Immaculate Conception 
in honor of the Immaculate Mother of God." 

Down the great river they glided between smooth 
shores and rocky bluffs. The moose, elk, and deer were 
feeding on the shores and farther down vast herds of 
buffalo grazed on the plains. Swans splashed in the 
water and large flocks of turkeys were seen among the 
trees. 

"You have been so quiet of late !" said Joliet to Pierre 
one day. 

"Oh! there is so much to see and I am so glad 
Father Marquette let us come along," returned the old 
hunter. 

"I, too, am happy, Pierre. We are floating upon what 
is, perhaps, the largest river in the world. I do think that 



THE STORY OF A GREAT RIVER 



87 



this stream drains a continent larger than Europe. Can 
you imagine, Pierre, the grand cities that will grow up 
along this stream some future day? And we shall be 
forever remembered in history as the finders of the great 
waterway of the Western Continent." 

"But now, Joliet," said Pierre playfully, "let Father 
Marquette tell us what he sees in the times to come." 

"I," answered the humble priest, gazing thoughtfully 
into the distance, "see throngs of Christians — Indians 




ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI 

and whites — I see churches and schools. And, if you, 
Joliet, could then pass down this river as you do now, you 
would find crosses high up on the church towers taking 
the places of the rude mission crosses which now mark 
the Christian Indian villages." 

While the three were thus talking, the canoe was sud- 
denly struck by something and almost overturned. "It 
could not have been a tree nor a sand bank," said Father 
Marquette, "for the water is very deep here." 

"I see it !" exclaimed Pierre, "it is a fish as large as a 
man !" 

"There, there!" cried all in a chorus. The little band 
could not help but think of the horrible monsters against 
which the Indians had repeatedly warned them. The 
creature was a huge catfish. 



88 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

'Mid scenes and with chats like these, the Httle party 
drifted down the Mississippi for fifteen days. During 
all this time they had seen no trace of human beings. 

"Footprints! A trail!" cried one of the explorers one 
day while the canoes were moving along close to the west 
bank of the river. 

"Not so loud," whispered Father Marquette, "there 
may be danger." 

The* party landed and silently examined the footprints 
and the trail. "There must be an Indian village near by," 
declared the priest. "I shall follow the path." 

"And since the leader should always set the example, 
let me accompany you, Father," said Joliet. 

Hoping and fearing, Father Marquette and Joliet, the 
first white men to tread the soil of Iowa, followed the 
path for six miles, when they saw from a distance three 
Indian villages located on a stream now known as the 
Des Moines River. Drawing near, they made known 
their presence by shouting loudly. The Indians at once 
swarmed out of their huts. Four old men came to meet 
the strangers. Two of them had peace pipes, trimmed 
with colored feathers. These they held aloft toward the 
sun as if asking it to smoke. "These are worshippers 
of the sun," said Father Marquette to JoHet. Then turn- 
ing to the Indians he said, ''Who are you?" 

"We are Illinois," they answered. 

The good priest's heart beat fast with joy on seeing 
before him the gentle Illinois. It was they who had told 
him of the great river. It was they who had begged him 
to come to their country and had thus awakened in him 
the wish to find the river and win over the savages on its 
banks. The Illinois, too, were happy when they saw the 
blackrobe for whose coming they had hoped and waited so 
long. They led the two Frenchmen to their aged chief, 



THE STORY OF A GREAT RIVER 



89 



who, to tell them that their coming made the sun shine 
brighter, shielded his eyes with both hands and said, 
"How beautiful is the sun, O Frenchmen, when you come 
to visit us ! Our village awaits you ; enter in peace into 
our wigwams. Thou knowest the Great Spirit, Blackrobe. 
I pray thee come and dwell with us that we may know 
Him, too." 




^EHEE 



aH (I11(IiI|> 




ITi^^ 



1 1) 



INDIAN CALUMETS 



The day was spent by the savages in speeches, feasts, 
songs, and dances. The next morning the chief with six' 
hundred of his Indians accompanied the Frenchmen to 
their canoes, assuring them again and again that their 
visit had made the Illinois very happy. 

Slowly down the river the party glided once more. 
One day, when passing beneath a line of rocks near the 
present city of Alton, Illinois, Pierre suddenly cried out, 
"The river monsters ! The river monsters !" and pointed 
to a highj smooth cliff on which were painted in red, 
green, and black, the frightful pictures of some Indian 



90 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

gods. Father Marquette, describing these pictures, 
writes: "They have horns on their heads like those of 
a deer, a horrible look, red eyes, a beard like a tiger's, 
a face somewhat like a man's, a body covered with scales, 
and so long a tail that it winds all around the body, pass- 
ing above the head and going back between the legs, 
ending in a fish's tail." 

The little party were still talking earnestly about the 
painted monsters when they suddenly heard a roaring, 
rushing noise. "What can it be? Are we coming to 
some great falls ?" they cried much frightened. 

"Ah! a greater danger than the painted monsters!" 
exclaimed Father Marquette. "See that broad torrent 
of mud rushing madly into the calm, blue waters of our 
river ! How it tumbles and foams and carries along with 
it logs and branches and uprooted trees! Never have I 
seen anything more terrific !" 

They had reached the mouth of the Missouri. Its 
wild current tossed and whirled about the little canoes 
and almost upset them. "Perhaps that mighty river 
comes from the Pacific Ocean," said Father Marquette 
thoughtfully. "We shall most Hkely find that our River 
of the Immaculate Conception flows into the Gulf of 
Mexico, and not into the Pacific, as we thought it might. 
Some day I shall come back and follow this new muddy 
river to its source. I shall yet preach to all the Indian 
tribes of this great New World who have so long been 
without a teacher." 

Little did the good priest think that his life was nearly 
spent. Nor did he dream that more than a century 
would pass before another Jesuit missionary, the great 
Father De Smet, would ascend the Missouri to the far 
West, and teach the Gospel to nearly every Indian tribe 
west of the Mississippi. 



THE STORY OF A GREAT RIVER 91 

Passing the lonely forests which have since given room 
to our present city of St. Louis, the party soon came upon 
the mouth of a river which pours its clear waters into the 
Mississippi and which the Indians called the Ohio, or 
beautiful river. Gliding steadily on down-stream, they 
beheld one morning a band of Indians who carried guns — 
a sign that they had met with Europeans. Father Mar- 
quette raised aloft the peace pipe given to him by the 
Illinois. The savages at once became friendly and in- 
vited the Frenchmen ashore. They accepted the invita- 
tion but continued their journey the next day. 

Soon our heroes were obliged to hang up their sails as a 
protection against the scorching heat of the sun. Great 
swarms of mosquitoes tormented them by day and by 
night. Crouched in their boats behind the sails, they 
were one day suddenly surprised by frightful yells and 
war whoops from the west bank of the river. Savages 
in wooden boats shot out on the river above and below 
our little exploring fleet so that they could neither go on 
nor turn back. Stones and clubs were hurled at them. 
Arrows whizzed through the air. Father Marquette 
waved his peace pipe, but they yelled louder than ever. 
Again the priest waved the calumet. Just then the chiefs 
of the village arrived. Seeing the pipe, they quieted the 
noisy crowd and then waded into the water and forced 
the canoes of our friends to the shore. 

"What has brought you to our village, Paleface?" in- 
quired one of the chiefs. 

"We ask only for a guide to show us down to the mouth 
of the river," answered Father Marquette kindly. 

"You are not far from the end of the river. Some of 
our men will bring you to an Indian tribe farther south, 
who can tell you more about it." 



92 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 




li 



i«H''i>iHf:|'iiy',;;ft:,i|,::,||if3:ij] 







^»'./.iiiiii»«.iii.i.,.iiyLiii.iini 



THE STORY OF A GREAT RIVER 93 

A fleet of canoes in which were ten Indians now led 
the way to the village of the Arkansas tribe, who lived 
opposite the mouth of the Arkansas River. It was at this 
point, we are told, that the Spaniard De Soto was buried 
more than a hundred years earlier. 

When our party neared the Arkansas village, a number 
of Indians came in their boats to welcome them and bring 
them to their great war chief. Father Marquette spoke 
to the chief and his Indians through a young Indian among 
them who knew a little Illinois. He told them of God who 
created them and of God's great love for all His chil- 
dren. The Indians were pleased with what he said and 
begged the missionary not to leave them. "I have come," 
said the priest, "to visit all the tribes along the great 
river. I cannot stay here now. But I shall return and 
bring other blackrobes who will remain with you and 
teach you to know and serve God." 

The Indians, however, warned him not to go farther 
down the river. "For," said the chief, "you will meet 
warlike tribes who have guns given them by the 
Spaniards. We are so much afraid of them that we dare 
not hunt the buffalo and have to live on Indian corn." 
They also assured the Frenchmen that the Mississippi 
did not flow into the Atlantic nor into the Pacific Ocean, 
but that it was the same stream the Spaniard De Soto 
had discovered, and that it poured its waters into the 
Gulf of Mexico. 

"Father," said Joliet, when they came together late 
that evening, "the Indians may be right when they 
warn us not to go farther down the river. What do you 
think is best for us to do — to continue our voyage down- 
stream or to turn back?" 

"It seems too bad to turn back when we are so near 
the mouth of the river," said Father Marquette. "It is, 



94 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

however, better to turn back and not to have seen with 
our own eyes that the river flows into the Gulf of Mexico, 
than to be captured by the Spaniards or killed by the 
Indians ; for who would then tell the story of our wonder- 
ful discovery ?" 

Joliet left the cabin, and, walking to where the men 
were taking care of the canoes, he said, "We shall turn 
up-stream tomorrow. Father Marquette and I both think 
it would not be wise to go farther down the river." 



4. HOMEWARD BOUND. THE DEATH OF 
FATHER MARQUETTE 

Early the next morning our voyagers turned their 
canoes northward. It was just two months since they 
had left St. Ignace and one month after the discovery 
of the Mississippi. Paddling up-stream under the heat 
of the summer sun and sleeping at night amid swarms of 
mosquitoes on the moist, chiUy banks of the river were 
trying indeed. Father INIarquette soon became ill and 
lay for weeks in the bottom of his canoe. 

Instead of returning to Lake Michigan by way of the 
Fox and Wisconsin Rivers, the explorers now took the 
shorter route up the Illinois. This beautiful stream led 
past villages of Illinois Indians. The good Father remained 
for some days with these gentle tribes, who were his 
favorite children even before he left St. Ignace. He was 
too ill to tarry long, but upon their earnest entreaties, he 
promised to return to them soon. 

At length our heroes reached the mission of St. Francis 
Xavier at the head of Green Bay. It was from here they 
had started out four months previous, full of life and 
health and brightest hopes. Now they returned, sick 
and travel-worn. But they were happy, nevertheless, 



THE STORY OF A GREAT RIVER 95 

for they had found the great river and had made friends 
with the Indian tribes upon its banks. They had prepared 
the way for the trader and the missionary. 

Father Marquette had in the meantime been given 
charge of the mission of St. Xavier and was therefore at 
home. Even had he not been, he was too ill to go farther. 
Joliet, too, needed rest. He feared, besides, that the 
winter might entrap him in the ice, should he venture to 
set out for Quebec, so he decided to remain with his 
priestly friend at the mission till spring. 

During the long winter months each of our two heroes 
wrote an account of his voyage and made a map of the 
country which had been visited. Father Marquette, some 
time later, sent his report with a party of Indian traders 
to the Jesuit superior at Quebec. And Joliet? 

When the ice broke upon the waterways to the little 
capital of New France, he bade farewell to Father Mar- 
quette and set out in high spirits to report to the gov- 
ernor of New France at Quebec. In Lachine Rapids, 
near Montreal, his boat was upset. Four hours he fought 
with the angry waves and barely escaped with his life. 
His first concern was his papers. They were gone — a 
sad loss ! Because of this, poor Joliet never received the 
honor and reward which he had expected from the 
government. 

Thus Father Marquette, without any thought of hon- 
ors or riches, became the only reporter of the great voy- 
age of discovery. For his papers, safely delivered to his 
superior at Quebec, were published to the world as 
Father Marquette's "Journal." Only in our own times 
has Joliet come to be looked upon as a full partner of 
Father Marquette in their great discovery. 

Though Johet was disappointed, his story of the great 
discovery was received with much rejoicing in Quebec. 



96 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



Bells were rung and cannon fired. In the cathedral a 
solemn Te Deum was sung in thanksgiving. 

Meanwhile, Father Marquette had lain sick for a whole 
year in his cabin at the mission of St. Xavier. Early 
in the fall, however, he thought himself cured and set 
out to return, as he had promised, to his beloved redmen 
on the Illinois River. The little party filling ten canoes 




DEATH OP FATHER JIARQUETTE 

consisted of two Frenchmen and a band of Indians. 
Down Green Bay and along the western shores of Lake 
Michigan they paddled bravely on through storm and 
cold. On entering the Chicago River, Father Marquette 
was taken with bleeding of the lungs and was forced to 
spend the winter upon the site of the present city of 
Chicago. Becoming somewhat stronger in spring, he 
continued his voyage and was received as an angel from 
heaven by his beloved Illinois. They gathered about him 
in great crowds and heard with joy his instructions. 



THE STORY OF A GREAT RIVER 97 

The good priest, however, felt that his end was near. 
So he set out for his beloved St. Ignace, there, if God so 
willed, to die among his own. The Indians were much 
grieved to see their beloved blackrobe depart. A band 
of them accompanied him all the way to Lake Michigan. 
Most tenderly did these children of the forest take care 
of their sick blackrobe. After they had turned back, the 
two Frenchmen, Pierre and James, continued slowly up 
the eastern side of the lake with the dying missionary. 
When they came upon the mouth of the stream now called 
Marquette River, the priest asked his companions to land. 
"Yonder high bank of the river," said he, "is a fitting place 
for my grave." And here on the Blessed Virgin's day 
of the week, and in her month of the year 1675, Father 
Marquette, only thirty-eight years of age, passed away. 

His last prayer was a thanksgiving to God for the 
favor of dying a lonely missionary of Jesus Christ in the 
wilderness. His two faithful companions buried his body 
and raised a large cross over the grave. They then carried 
the sad news to St. Ignace and later also to Quebec. 

Before long a band of Indian hunters found the grave 
of their gentle blackrobe whom they tenderly loved. They 
opened it, and reverently laying his remains into a box 
of birch bark, they carried them three hundred miles 
back to St. Ignace. What a wonderful sight was 
that funeral procession! Thirty canoes paddled silently 
along the shores of Lake Michigan. After all the funeral 
rites had been performed, the precious remains were laid 
at rest in a small vault below the chapel. The little 
church of St. Ignace was later destroyed by fire, but a 
rude marble monument still marks the grave of Father 
Marquette, the Angel of old St. Ignace. 



98 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

5. THE MISSISSIPPI EXPLORED FROM SOURCE 
TO MOUTH 

The last words of the gentle Father Marquette had 
scarcely died away on the breezes of Lake Michigan when 
a great Catholic nobleman at Montreal was making plans 
to complete the explorations of the Mississippi. This 
nobleman was Robert de La Salle, a man with a strong 
mind and an iron will. He was the greatest of the great 
explorers of New France. 

No one was more rejoiced over the discoveries and ex- 
plorations of Father Marquette and Joliet than was La 
Salle. "We must now," said he, "build a line of forts and 
fur-trading stations and missions all along the banks of 
the Mississippi and plant a strong colony at the mouth of 
the river. Then no other nation can buy the furs from 
the Indians nor take away from us this vast lake and 
river country. I, myself, shall build these forts with the 
money I can gain by trading with the redmen." 

La Salle went to France and laid his bold plans before 
Louis XIV. The French King was more than delighted 
at the idea of adding such undreamed-of possessions to 
his kingdom. 

On returning to Canada, La Salle at once began to pre- 
pare for the exploration of the Mississippi from its source 
to its mouth. He had already discovered the Illinois and 
Ohio Rivers, even before Father Marquette and Joliet 
discovered the Mississippi. With a number of companions 
he now came to the Illinois and built a fort at the present 
site of Peoria. One of La Salle's party was a Franciscan, 
Father Louis Hennepin. This Father had discovered the 
Great Niagara Falls, and La Salle now asked him to ex- 
plore the still unknown northern part of the Mississippi. 

Father Hennepin, therefore, with two companions 



THE STORY OF A GREAT RIVER 99 

floated down the Illinois and paddled up the Mississippi 
River. In the summer of 1680, he discovered the rapids 
now encircled by Minneapolis. He named them St. An- 
thony's Falls in honor of St. Anthony of Padua. The 




LA SALLE TAKING POSSESSION OF THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY 

good Father and his two companions were captured by 
the Indians, but were finally set free through the efforts 
of an old fur trader named Du Lhut. Father Hennepin 
then turned down stream as far as the Wisconsin River 
and thence back by way of the Fox River and Green Bay 
to St. Ignace. 

Some time later, La Salle also started down the Illinois 



100 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



River. And after many trials and disappointments he 
succeeded in exploring the entire Mississippi, reaching its 
mouth in April, 1682. ''The river is now ours," he said 
proudly. "We have given to the King of France the 
vast Mississippi valley from the frozen .northern lakes to 
the warm shores of the Gulf of Mexico, from the eastern 
Alleghanies to the western horizon — a great country 
drained by a thousand rivers and peopled by hundreds of 
native tribes." Planting a cross, and displaying the ban- 
ner of France, he named this new country Louisiana. 
Why? To dedicate it to St. Louis and to honor his sov- 
ereign, Louis XIV of France. 

The rest of our story is a sad one. La Salle failed 
completely in planting a settlement on the Gulf of Mexico 
and was treacherously murdered by his own men before 
he had scarcely begun the great work he had planned. 
But he who was a hero in life was a hero also in death, 
dying with a prayer for his murderers upon his lips. 

This then, is the wonderful story of the discovery and 
exploration of our great Mississippi River. 



k 



:J^=^ 



:t?=^=:tr- 



4—1 ^ \) -P- 



.4-^ 



1. De So - to rov - ing in the 

2. They traced the no - ble stream far 

3. La Salle next came and promptlj^ 

4. Then turning round, he south-ward 



^^ 



south Dis-cov-ered 

south, From fair Wis- 
sent The Fri - ar 

faced And grate-ful- 



^ 



t J d ^ 



:^5=^ 



g-i^-g 



r r t r— c p p b 



first the Riv-er's mouth. The daring Frenchman Jo - li- 
con - sin Riv - er's mouth To where the Ar-kan - sas doth 
Hen -ne -pin, who went, Pro-ceed-ing by a North-ward 
ly His route re - traced. La Salle him-self then float-ed 



THE STORY OF A GREAT RIVER 101 



t: 



ifci^zz^iij^ 



tT 



m 



f=5 5 " i i" r r' t M { f t 

et Then sought the saintly James Marquette. From distant 
show Just where they laid De So - to low Up-on the 
course, To seek the Riv-er's unknown source; He came up- 
south, Down to the Riv-er's ver - y mouth And planted 






r 



St. Ig-nace the two, Set forth with paddle and ca - noe. 
Mis-sis - sip-pi's bed When he was numbered with the dead, 
on St. An-th'ny Fall Right near our present great St. Paul, 
on its sea-bound strand The lil-ies of his na-tive land. 



Questions for Thought 

1. Write an account in your own words telling how much was 
known of the Mississippi River previous to the voyage of Father 
Marquette and Joliet. 

2. Trace the route of Father Marquette and Joliet's voyage 
from St. Ignace to the mouth of the Arkansas and back to St. 
Xavier and Quebec. 

3. Write a brief sketch of Father Marquette. 

4. Why was the discovery of Father Marquette and Joliet a 
most important achievement ? 

5. Trace on the map the route of La Salle's voyage, including 
that of Father Hennepin. 

6. How did the enterprise of La Salle affect the history of the 
American continent ? 



Selections for Reading 

Hiawatha's Departure — Longfellow 



IV 

THE GREAT SOUTHWEST 
1. THE FRANCISCAN PADRES IN THE SOUTH 

In one of the coaches of a train bound south from Los 
Angeles were two travehng companions from the Atlantic 
Coast. James, a boy of about fifteen years of age, was 
reading what he seemed to find a very interesting book. 
His tutor, Brother Jerome, a kindly, scholarly-looking 
man, sat gazing out of the window. He was lost in 
thought ; his mind was drifting many years back in history 
to the time when this land, now covered with beautiful 
gardens, spreading orchards, and handsome buildings, was 
one unbroken wilderness. He saw the good Padres swing 
their bells from the boughs of the trees and ring them 
with might and main until the mountains sent the echo 
back and the surprised natives came to see what the 
strange sounds meant. 

The good Brother's thoughts of the past were inter- 
rupted by James exclaiming, "0, Brother Jerome, I am 
so glad that you advised me to read this book before we 
arrived at the old missions ! I know I shall enjoy my visit 
to them far more for having read it. Listen to what 
Helen Hunt Jackson said when she saw Padre Junipero 
Serra's picture : *Ah ! faithful, noble, dear old face ! What 
an unselfish, devoted life you led ! All that I ask is to be 
permitted to meet you in the other world !' " 

"Yes," said Brother Jerome, "the accounts of the work 
of Padre Junipero Serra and his companions in this region 
are interesting indeed." 

102 



THE GREAT SOUTHWEST 103 

"And I never had any idea," said James, "until I read 
this book that the Spaniards had done so much for the 
Indians." 

"But all that you have read is very true indeed," 
responded Brother Jerome. "The Spaniards v^ere not only 
the first to discover, conquer, and colonize America, but 
they were also the first to civilize its natives. They were 
the first missionaries to the New World, and built the first 
cities, churches, and schools. They set up the first print- 
ing press and wrote and printed the first dictionaries, 
histories, and geographies." 

"Then it isn't true that the Spaniards were very cruel 
to the natives?" 

"On the contrary, Spain ruled her Indians very kindly 
and wisely. She never drove them from their lands, but 
rather defended their rights. Naturally, the savages 
sometimes had to be compelled to obey the laws of the 
Spaniards. Of course, they could not learn obedience in 
all things at once, but they had, at least, to refrain from 
killing their new, white neighbors if they did not want to 
receive a like treatment in return. As soon as they had 
learned this lesson, the Spaniards were sure to befriend 
and protect them." 

"Did the Spanish missionaries have much trouble in 
trying to convert the Indians to the true Faith ?" 

"Yes, it was a most difficult task, and especially so in 
Mexico and the southern regions of what is now the 
United States. The natives here were not only of a very 
low order, but they had very strange religious beliefs and 
practices. We are told that our northern natives believed 
in the 'Great Spirit'. However, before the coming of the 
missionaries, none of the American Indians believed in 
one all-good. Supreme Being. Their belief was in many 
cruel, revengeful spirits. Nearly every one of their actions 



104 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



was performed with the intention of bribing these angry 
gods not to harm them. The rehgious practices of our 
Northern Indians, though horrible, were in reality mild 
and civilized compared with those of the natives of the 
South." 

"Can you tell me something about them ?" asked James. 

"The Indians of Mexico, for instance, carved huge, ugly 

stone gods or idols. To these they offered anything 

that seemed valu- 
able just to keep 
them in good hu- 
mor. Since human 
life seemed the 
most precious 
thing, every In- 
d i a n pueblo, or 
town, had its idol 
before which hu- 
man lives were 
offered frequently. 
And sometimes as many as five hundred human beings 
were sacrificed in one day. The ground before the idol 
was always wet with human blood ; human hearts lay 
smoldering upon an altar of stone which was often most 
beautifully carved. The dead bodies of the cruelly 
butchered victims were devoured by the savages as a 
part of the religious service." 

"Was the Aztec Calendar Stone one of these altars?" 
asked James. "I remember reading about it in one of my 
histories." 

"Yes, the Aztec Calendar Stone is a part of one of the 
most famous of the Indian altars. It was in use before 
the coming of Columbus, and is now preserved in the 
National Museum in Mexico." 




THE AZTEC CALENDAR STONE 



THE GREAT SOUTHWEST 105 

"What a terrible religion these Indians did have!" 
exclaimed James. 

"Yes," said Brother Jerome, "but it did not seem so to 
them. The Mexican tribes knew no better way of welcom- 
ing Cortez than by offering human sacrifice to him. It is 
needless to say that the great conqueror of Mexico did 
not accept this bloody token of esteem." 

"I can't see how the missionaries ever succeeded in 
getting the Indians to understand that their idols did not 
represent gods, and that the offering of human life was 
wrong." 

"The missionaries worked tactfully. When the Indians 
saw that the good Padre was not struck down when he 
dared speak against their idol, they were puzzled and 
surprised. They were still more surprised when he even 
touched the idol without being harmed. But imagine, if 
you can, their breathless terror when he finally threw 
down and broke the huge stone idol. They then began 
slowly to distrust and despise their cowardly god who 
could be thus insulted without punishing the offender. 

"In this way the good missionaries gradually induced 
the Indians of Mexico to forsake their idols and to abolish 
human sacrifice. But knowing how extremely fond the 
savages were of the tragic scenes of their bloody wor- 
ship, they taught them to perform and enjoy religious 
dramas instead. The natives delighted in these plays, 
which they performed with remarkable skill," 

"How interesting!" exclaimed James. "But now that 
we are getting near the old missions, won't you tell me 
more about them? I shall not have time to read very 
much more." 

"Well, then," said Brother Jerome, smiling, "let us go 
back to the time when the Franciscans first came to 
America. Father Juan Perez accompanied Columbus on 



106 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

his second voyage and said the first Holy Mass in the 
New World. He became the first superior of the first 
Franciscan convent in America, which was built by Colum- 
bus on the site of the present Santo Domingo on the island 
of Haiti. Other Franciscans soon came to the New World 
in large numbers and labored among the natives of the 
islands and the mainland. They accompanied every expe- 
dition of Spanish exploration and conquest for the purpose 
of instructing and protecting the Indians. Before long 
they had established missions among nearly all the tribes 
of South America and southern North America." 

"Did the Franciscans ever labor among the Indians in 
Canada and about the Great Lakes in those early days ?" 
interrupted Jam^es. 

"Yes, they did labor in the northern part of North 
America, and for a long time were the only missionaries 
among the Indians in New France. Being too few in 
number, however, they invited the Fathers of the Society 
of Jesus to join them. Finally, the Indians of the North- 
west were left almost entirely in the charge of the 
Jesuits." 

2. THE JESUIT PADRES IN LOWER CALIFORNIA 

"But," said James, "I am impatient to learn how the old 
Californian missions were founded." 

"Originally, this country, now known as the 'State of 
the Golden Gate,' was called Upper California, whereas 
the peninsula extending southward was named Lower 
California. The Jesuits were the first to establish mis- 
sions in Lower California. They crossed the Gulf and 
made their beginning at Loreto in 1697. But the Indians 
did not come near them for several days, and when they 
did finally appear, they gathered on a distant hill and 



THE GREAT SOUTHWEST 107 

made known by signs and shouts that they wanted the 
Spaniards to leave." 

"Why did they act thus ?" asked James. 

"The Gulf of Lower California contained rich pearl 
beds, which had attracted many adventurers and free- 
booters, who had ill-treated the natives, forcing them to 
dive into the gulf for pearls. Hence, it was but natural 
that the Indians were suspicious of all white men." 

"And did the Jesuits ever win over the savages?" 

''They did. When the natives learned that the Jesuits 
had come solely to help them and not for the sake 
of the pearls, they finally lost all fear and came with 
pleasure to receive gifts from the Padres and to listen to 
their teachings. It is interesting to know how the Padres 
tried to make things clear to the unlettered natives by the 
use of pictures and objects. For instance, on one occasion 
they placed before the assembled savages a life-sized 
image of Jesus crucified." 

"And what did the Indians do?" inquired the much 
interested James. 

"At first they showed great fear and scarcely dared 
look at the image. Finally, they whispered to each other, 
'Who can this be ?' After the curiosity of the natives had 
been awakened in this way, they listened most eagerly to 
the instruction that followed. 

"The task of the Padres, nevertheless, often seemed a 
hopeless one. The Indians of Lower California were 
stupid, fickle, untruthful, uncleanly, thievish, and lazy. 
They had no idea of a god, no idols, and no religious 
worship. They had no names for anything that can 
not be perceived by the senses. Therefore, their lan- 
guage contained no such words as truth, honor, shame, 
peace, faith, hope, love, beauty, and modesty. They 
understood numbers only as far as six at the best. They 



108 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



wore little or no clothing and never washed themselves. 
Nor did they even dress their game but devoured it just 
as it was killed." 

"And were the missionaries really able to do some- 
thing with these savages?" 

"They were, indeed, impossible as it might seem. 
They first set about learning the language of the natives. 
Noticing that the grown people laughed at their mis- 




INDIAKS AT WOKK IK THE FIELD 



takes and often deceived them, they took the children 
for teachers. 

In the morning each Padre gathered his flock in the 
mission church. Here he said Holy Mass for them, 
prayed and sang with them, and gave them religious 
instructions. Each church had a band of musicians and 
the boys were taught by the Padres to play the harp, 
violin, and other stringed instruments. 

"After the morning exercises each Indian was assigned 
his task in the field or workshop. Here, as everywhere, 
the Padre always had to take the lead, for the Indians 



THE GREAT SOUTHWEST 109 

were lazy and would not even think of stirring unless 
they saw the Padre work hardest of all. At length, how- 
ever, the tireless, patient missionaries, toiling only for 
the glory of God, met .with some success. Their wild 
charges gradually became able to form some idea of the 
meaning of their prayers and instructions. They also 
became more willing to work, seeing that their labor in 
the fields was rewarded with rich crops of wheat and corn. 
They even made the wine needed for the Holy Sacrifice of 
the Mass. They raised horses, cattle, and sheep. The 
women learned to spin and weave the wool of the sheep 
into a sort of rude cloth. 

"But there came a sad day for the devoted Jesuit Padres 
and their beloved children. The King of Spain very un- 
justly banished the Society of Jesus from all the Spanish 
domains. With streaming eyes the natives of Lower 
California parted with the good priests who had done so 
much for them. In some instances they accompanied them 
for great distances toward Loreto. One of the Padres, dis- 
abled by a broken leg, was carried all the way to the land- 
ing place by his Indians. The sixteen Jesuit exiles sailed 
from Loreto southward to a point on the Mexican coast 
whence they proceeded overland to Vera Cruz. Standing 
together on the ship, and chanting aloud the Litany of 
our Lady of Loreto, they bade a sorrowful farewell to the 
land which had been the scene of the untiring labors of 
the Fathers of their Society for more than seventy years. 

"Lower California then numbered about fifty thousand 
Indians. Among these the Jesuits had established four- 
teen missions, which extended from Cape San Lucas on 
the south to Santa Maria, near the mouth of the Colorado 
River on the north," 

"About how many Jesuits in all were banished from 
the Spanish domains, and what became of them?" 



110 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

"Over six thousand. Those who were arrested in Spain 
were transported to Italy, while the Mexican Padres were 
transported to the far-away island of Corsica." 

3. THE FRANCISCAN PADRES IN UPPER CALIFORNIA 

Part One. Padrr Serra Plans to Establish Missions in 
Upper California 

"Here we are at last at San Diego!" exclaimed James. 

"Yes," returned Brother Jerome. "Here we are at the 
first of the missions of Upper California. With th» found- 
ing of this place began the work of the Franciscan 
Padres in our present state of California. Let us climb 
that hill over yonder and sit for a while on that famous 
spot and continue our talk." 

When they reached the top of the hill they gazed with 
admiration at a huge cross which was made of steel and 
concrete and was studded with fragments of tiles dug up 
from the ruins of the old San Diego mission. Its base, in 
which is a bronze memorial tablet, is made of stones col- 
lected from the ruins of the various California missions. 

"Now we are actually standing on the site of the 
ancient mission !" exclaimed James, reverently. 

"And this cross," added Brother Jerome, "erected in 
1913 as a monument to Padre Serra, marks the very spot 
on which the great Franciscan raised his first rude cross 
and solemnly founded the San Diego mission. The event 
is annually celebrated on Easter Sunday by a High Mass 
at the foot of this cross. Pilgrimages are made to this 
cross on the last Sunday of November, the anniversary 
of Padre Serra's death being on November 22. The mis- 
sion was begun at the foot of this hill, but Padre Serra, 
some time later, moved it six miles up the valley to sepa- 
rate the neophytes, or converts, from the evil influence of 



THE GREAT SOUTHWEST 



111 




MOKUMENT TO PADRE SERRA AT 
SAN DIEGO 



the soldiers, whose presidio, or military post, remained 
here on the original site, now known as Old Town." 

"What a difference between the California of that long 
ago time and our California of today," said James, as the 
two seated themselves be- 
neath the cross. 

"Suppose we compare 
the two briefly," sug- 
gested Brother Jerome. 
"California, as we know 
it today, with its long 
coast line, towering 
mountains, trackless des- 
erts, deep canyons, dense 
forests, fruitful valleys, 
and many thousands of happy, prosperous people', is, un- 
doubtedly, the most interesting of all the forty-eight 
states in our Union. It has a greater variety of climate 
and of plant life than any other of our states. One might, 
for instance, spend Christmas forenoon beneath the clear- 
est of skies, amidst blooming orange ^ groves, fragrant 
flower beds, murmuring waterfalls, and singing birds, and, 
after a few hours, be up among the snow-capped moun- 
tains striking the snow from some stately pine. 

"And only about one hundred and fifty years ago this 
fairyland of California, of which we are now so proud, 
still lay in wild solitude with only the lowest type of the 
human race to roam about its unexplored mountains, 
plains, and forests, and dwell in its caves and canyons. 
The Spanish navigators, Cabrillo and Vizcaino, had 
explored the Californian coast more than two hundred 
years previous to Padre Serra's founding of San Diego. 
But Spain was too busy at home to begin settling the 
land thus added to her domains. Nor would she listen 



112 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

to the missionaries, who pleaded for more than a hundred 
years to be permitted to establish missions among the 
poor, long-neglected natives of Upper California." 

"I remember reading," broke in James, "that Spain 
opened a fine trade with the Philippines after these 
islands had been discovered by Magellan. I should think 
that her trading vessels would have badly needed harbors 
on the Californian coast after their long sail across the 
Pacific to Mexican ports." 

"Yes, but neither the petitions of the missionaries nor 
the wants of the navigators would have stirred Spain to 
action had she not finally found herself in danger of 
losing Upper California. Russia had taken possession of 
Alaska and was steadily pushing southward. To prevent 
this nation from laying claim to California, Charles III 
of Spain now promptly ordered that missions and military 
posts be quickly established." 

"Do you think the United States would ever have 
secured California if Russia had succeeded in taking pos- 
session of it ?" asked James. 

"No," said Brother Jerome. "The Stars and Stripes 
would scarcely float over Cahfornia today, had not King 
Charles sent out his missionaries just at the time he did. 
For had Russia taken this region she would probably 
never have disposed of it to the United States, especially 
after learning that it contained rich deposits of gold. As 
it was, Mexico later became independent of Spain, and 
eventually, our country and Mexico went to war, after 
which California became a part of the United States." 

"I am becoming more and more interested," said James. 
"But now I am anxious to hear how the Franciscans hap- 
pened to replace the banished Jesuits, and how they got 
to Upper California." 

"The same royal command that exiled the Jesuits from 



THE GREAT SOUTHWEST 113 

Lower California, also made over their missions to the 
Mexican Franciscans, who were furthermore ordered to 
establish missions in Upper California. In this work they 
were to be assisted by a government agent, or Inspector 
General, who was told to 'occupy and fortify San Diego 
and Monterey for God and the King of Spain !' " 

"And were the Franciscans prepared for this great 
work on such short notice ?" asked James. 

'They had no choice," responded the Brother. "Padre 
Junipero Serra, with a little band of fifteen priests, at 
once hastened to Loreto in Lower California. This Padre 
was a native of the island of Majorca. He had entered 
a Franciscan convent when seventeen years of age and 
taken the name of Junipero in honor of that jovial, 
simple-hearted Franciscan of whom St. Francis once said, 
'Oh, that I had a whole forest of such junipers.' The 
sincere and intelKgent youth finished his studies most 
brilliantly. Positions of worldly honor and trust were 
open for him. But Padre Junipero turned away from 
these fair promises and begged earnestly to be sent as a 
missionary to the American Indians. His petition was 
granted, and at length, after a fearful voyage of three 
months, he landed at Vera Cruz. To test his strength for 
the hardships before him, he and a companion walked all 
the way from there to the city of Mexico, but he thereby 
so seriously injured his leg that he suffered from the 
effects throughout the remainder of his life. 

Padre Serra labored for nine years among the Indians 
of Mexico. After this he preached missions in the capital 
and elsewhere. His appointment as superior of the Cali- 
fornian missions gave him great joy, for he saw in it 
the fulfillment of his fondest hopes. It would now be his 
happy lot, not only to teach the poor savages himself, but 
also to call upon others to labor where he could not go — 



114 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



in other words, he could now multiply himself, as it 
were, many times." 




From an original iialnting in Mexico 

PADRE JUNIPEKO SERRA 



"And what sort of man was the Inspector General?" 
inquired James. 

"A great favorite of Charles III, who had granted him 



THE GREAT SOUTHWEST 115 

almost absolute power. Being a most sincere and sensible 
man, however, his great powers served him well in the 
support of the Padres and their missionary enterprises." 

"How fortunate," exclaimed James, "to have the inter- 
ests of God and the King placed in such good hands !" 

"Truly," continued Brother Jerome. "The two worthy 
men set about their task most zealously. Sitting together 
in their adobe rooms at Loreto, they made plans for the 
great work before them." 

"And what plans did they make? Do you know some 
of them?" 

"Yes, they decided that the missions of Lower Cali- 
fornia should be continued in the same manner as under 
the Jesuit rule, and also that these missions should help 
to found new missions in Upper California. This they 
were to do by furnishing the necessaries for the churches, 
as well as such cattle, grain, and other provisions as could 
be spared. Arrangements were also made for the estab- 
lishment of missions and presidios at San Diego and 
Monterey." 

Part Two. The Franciscans Found Missions in Upper 
California 

"Were Padre Serra and the Inspector General success- 
ful in carrying out their plans ?" asked James. 

"They were. Two ships laden with supplies for the 
new missions sailed from Loreto for San Diego, while two 
land forces marched toward the same point gathering live 
stock and other supplies on the way. The four expedi- 
tions finally arrived at San Diego. Here bells were fas- 
tened to the trees and rung by eager hands. The Holy 
Sacrifice of the Mass was offered and the Veni Creator 
sung. A cross was raised and the banner of Spain 
unfurled to the breeze. Thus Padre Serra founded on 



116 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



this hill the first of the twenty-one famous Franciscan 
missions and solemnly claimed California for *God and 
the King of Spain' in July, 1769 — seven years before that 
famous July on the Atlantic coast." 

"Glorious," cried James. "But where were the natives 
for whose sake the Padres had come?" 

"They kept shyly aloof, looking on in dumb surprise 
from a distance. The ships in the harbors reminded them 




FOUNDING THE SAN DIEGO MISSION 

of an old story of just such white-winged creatures which 
had come hither in the long ago, but had gone away and 
never again returned. 'Would it be likewise this time?' 
they wondered." 

"Were these natives like those in Lower California?" 
inquired James. 

"They were just as wild and dull and lazy. The 
Padres found them unusually distrustful, also treacherous 
— more so, perhaps, than most of the Indians whom 
they met while establishing the remaining California 
missions." 



THE GREAT SOUTHWEST 117 

"Did they finally come near Padre Serra and his com- 
panions?" asked James again. 

"Yes, but in a rather uncivil manner. They stole what- 
ever they could lay hands upon and one day made a wild 
raid for plunder. The Spaniards tried to prevent this 
without shedding blood, but, upon being treated with a 
flight of arrows, they were obliged to make use of their 
firearms. Three Indians were killed and several wounded ; 
the rest fled in terror." 

"It must have been hard work to gain the confidence 
of these natives after such an unfriendly beginning," 
said James. 

"It was, indeed ! More than a year passed before the 
Padres had any neophytes, though the country about 
San Diego was well peopled, and numbered no less than 
eleven rancherias, or settlements. Meanwhile the soldiers 
were busy erecting their presidio, together with a church, 
dwellings, storehouses, and corrals, or yards, for the 
horses and cattle. These latter buildings, all adobes, were 
added to the soldiers' quarters when Padre Serra moved 
the mission away from the presidio." 

"But the natives finally became friendly, did they not?" 
interrupted James. 

"Yes; within the next few years the Padres baptized 
many hundreds of savages. The progress of the mission 
greatly gladdened the hearts of the devoted priests. But 
their gladness was soon changed into sorrow by a dread- 
ful event. A band of Indians back in the mountains, 
incited by their medicine men, planned a fierce midnight 
attack upon the San Diego mission which would rid them 
forever of the hated monks. In the fall of the same year 
in which the thirteen colonies on the Atlantic coast began 
their struggle for Independence, a band of howling sav- 
ages came suddenly down like a pack of hungry wolves 



118 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

upon the unguarded mission which was then in charge of 
Padres Jayme and Fuster. Roused from his slumber, 
the heroic Padre Jayme hastened to calm the wild hordes 
with his usual greeting, 'Love God, my children!' What 
a picture the fearless monk made with his crucifix raised 
as if in blessing and with the bright light of martyrdom 
shining forth from his eyes !" 

''Were the savages moved by it?" asked James, deeply 
interested. 

"No. They fell upon the noble priest with clubs 
and stones and spears. They bruised and hacked and 
pierced him until he gasped forth his soul with a loving 
prayer. Thus died the martyr in whose blood California 
was baptized. Meanwhile Padre Fuster, who had has- 
tened from his room, calling loudly for his companion, 
was also attacked, but was rescued by the soldiers of 
the guard. One of the soldiers and a blacksmith were 
also slain. 

"The church was robbed and the buildings of the mis- 
sion set on fire. The yelping savages, dancing and dart- 
ing about in the red glare of the flames, brandishing their 
clubs and axes, and shooting their arrows in every direc- 
tion, presented a frightful scene, indeed. Toward morn- 
ing they gathered their dead and wounded and returned 
to their mountain haunts. Then appeared the neophytes 
who had been surrounded by their savage brethren and 
had thus been kept from defending the place. Their joy 
on beholding Padre Fuster still living was soon changed 
to great grief on finding the mangled body of Padre 
Jayme. Padre Fuster deeply mourned the loss of his 
beloved companion, whom he laid tenderly at rest near the 
presidio. Padre Serra, on hearing the sad news, exclaimed 
joyfully, 'God be thanked ! Now the soil is watered ! Now 
will the conquest of the natives of San Diego be effected !" 



THE GREAT SOUTHWEST 



119 



"But," asked James, suddenly, "where was Padre Serra 
at this time? What was he doing?" 

"Padre Serra had gone north to Monterey. Here he 
founded the mission of San Carlos in June, 1770. Holy 
Mass was offered under a shelter made of branches. The 
Veni Creator was sung and the cross planted with the 
sprinkling of holy water and the swinging of incense. 




THE FOUNDING OF SAN CARLOS MISSION AT MONTEREY 



Then the mihtary commander took formal possession of 
the port of Monterey 'for God and the King' midst the 
booming of cannon and the firing of guns. A year later 
the mission was moved five miles away from the presidio 
as had been done at San Diego. When the two missions 
at San Diego and Monterey were established the fond 
hopes which Spain had entertained for nearly two 
hundred years were at last realized. The news of the 
great event was celebrated with solemn thanksgiving and 
much rejoicing, both in Mexico and the mother country." 



120 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

"Were the Indians about San Carlos different from 
those of San Diego?" asked James. 

"They were friendly from the beginning, and the 
Padres soon succeeded in drawing them to the mission by 
distributing among them all kinds of shiny trinkets, so 
dear to every savage heart. Once there, these wild 
children were held bound by the love and zeal of Padre 
Serra. It was nothing unusual to see as many as a 
hundred savages gathered on the slope of the hill, listen- 
ing eagerly to the teachings of this wonderful man as he 
stood upon the highest point as on a pulpit. 

"An interesting incident connected with the founding 
of San Carlos illustrates the disposition of the natives. 
Padre Serra had sent explorers to precede him to 
Monterey. On returning, they planted a cross on the 
sandy beach of Monterey harbor. When the party 
returned later to the spot, this time with Padre Serra, the 
cross presented a strange sight, indeed. Clam shells, 
fish, and meat were strung and wound about it ; it was 
crowned with feathers, while bundles of arrows and sticks 
lay before it on the ground. After the natives became 
able to make themselves understood they explained that 
when they first saw the Spaniards they noted a beautiful 
shining cross on the breast of each, and that at night the 
cross, which was left on the strand, grew wider and as 
high as the sky, lighting up the whole country around. 
They had placed their offerings about the cross to show 
that they wished to be friends of the cross and the white 
men who had placed it there." 

"Then," interrupted James, "these Indians, unlike those 
of Lower California and San Diego, had some idea of 
a god." 

"Only a very vague idea of something supernatural," 
explained Brother Jerome. "Nowhere in California did 



THE GREAT SOUTHWEST 



121 




La Purisinna .. 

Concepciijn ■=' * Santa Inez 

: Santa Barbara 

^t San Fernando 
San BonavenFbra.-?! «r San Gabriel 



^,_San Juan Capistrano 
San Luis Rey 



THE OLD FRANCISCAN MISSIONS IN CALIFOKNIA 



122 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

the Padres find the Indians beheving in a divinity or 
having idols." 

"This friendhness of the natives about San Carlos must 
have made the Padres very happy after their troubles 
with the Indians at San Diego," said James. 

"Yes," assented Brother Jerome. "Padre Serra was 
happy among the San Carlos Indians. This mission was 
in his own charge. Here he labored and from here he set 
forth either to found new missions or to visit those 
already established. What a sight it was to see this aged 
priest in his coarse habit and sandaled feet, journeying, 
in spite of his lameness, from mission to mission, turning 
aside into all the Indian rancherias on the way ! His zeal 
knew no bounds. Pain made no impression on him, never 
kept him from his work. 

"How we should have enjoyed seeing him in the oak- 
studded glen on which he was about to establish the 
mission of San Antonio ! After the bells were hung from 
the trees as had become customary, the ardent Padre 
rang them loudly, crying, 'Come, ye Gentiles! Come to 
the Holy Church! Come, come to receive the faith of 
Jesus Christ!' His Padre companion could not help tell- 
ing him that there was not a Gentile in sight and that 
he was tiring himself uselessly. But Padre Serra 
pleaded, 'Let me give vent to the fire within me. Oh, 
that these little bells could be heard all over the world, or 
at least by all the wild children in these mountains!' 
He kept on ringing mightily, and actually attracted a 
stray savage to the spot. Looking on with intense 
curiosity for some time, the Indian finally hurried away, 
but only to return shortly with a large number of com- 
panions — Padre Serra's Gentiles had come." 



THE GREAT SOUTHWEST 123 

4. THE CALIFORNIA MISSION SYSTEM 
Part One. The Wonderful Achievement of the Padres 

Brother Jerome and his pupil sat silent for a few 
moments, each occupied with his own thoughts, James 
at length broke the silence, "What wonderful men those 
Padres were, Brother Jerome! I could listen forever to 
your accounts of them." 

"Yes, but we must hasten on with our story. I have 
now told you of the establishment of three missions, San 
Diego, San Carlos, and San Antonio. The remaining 
eighteen of the twenty-one illustrious Franciscan missions 
in California, as you see them named in order upon the 
map, were founded one by one in the same enthusiastic 
and interesting manner as were these three. Each of the 
missions had a church. About it clustered the dwellings 
of the neophytes and other necessary buildings. The 
Padres' apartments were poor and cheerless, usually fur- 
nished with only a rawhide couch. All of the buildings 
were, as a rule, constructed of adobe bricks and stone, 
though in some of the missions they were also built of 
wood, especially in the beginning. The adobe bricks were 
made of mud mixed with chopped straw and were baked 
in the sun. They were about twelve to eighteen inches 
long, ten to twelve inches wide, and four inches thick. 

"Only at San Diego, San Carlos, San Francisco de 
Assisi, and Santa Barbara were presidios connected with 
the missions. At each of the other missions, a guard of 
three or five soldiers served as a sort of police force. 
Thus each mission formed a settlement of neophytes 
under the guidance of the Padres, After some years, 
thirty thousand Indians were lodged at one time in the 
California missions." 

"Were the neophytes ever allowed to return to their 



124 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



pagan friends in the wilderness or to live anywhere else 
than at the mission ?" asked James. 

"They were frequently given a vacation of two weeks 
during which time they might go anywhere they chose. 




A PADKE MAKING HIS WAV THROUGH THE AVI I.DKIIN KSS 

But outside of this vacation, they were obliged to remain 
at the mission. Runaways were followed and brought 
back by the soldiers. If the neophytes had been permitted 
to live among their pagan tribesmen, they would undoubt- 
edly have returned to their wild life and might even have 
become dangerous to the missions." 



THE GREAT SOUTHWEST 125 

"But how did the Padres manage to keep under such 
splendid control these throngs of untamed savages?" 

"They always first won the confidence of these nat- 
urally distrustful children of the wilderness. Only grad- 
ually did they train them to habits of cleanliness and 
diligence. They taught them to make clothing and to wear 
it, to build homes and to live in them. Along with this, 
and most important of all, they taught them that there 
existed a great, loving God; that their souls were im- 
mortal ; that they would be punished for their bad deeds 
and rewarded for the good they did." 

"Can you tell me how they passed the time in the 
missions?" 

"At daybreak everybody was up and astir. All were 
present at Holy Mass. During or immediately after the 
Holy Sacrifice, the Doctrina was recited in concert. The 
Doctrina consisted of the Sign of the Cross, the Lord's 
Prayer, the Hail Mary, the Apostle's Creed, and the Con- 
fiteor ; the Acts of Faith, Hope, Charity, and Contrition ; 
the Ten Commandments of God and the Precepts of the 
Church ; the Seven Sacraments, the Six Necessary Points 
of Faith, and the Four Last Things of Man. After these 
religious exercises, followed breakfast. 

"At about eight o'clock, all went to work — the men at 
their trades or in the fields ; the married women about 
their household duties ; and the maidens in separate 
houses and courts, where they wove and spun and sewed 
and laughed and chatted under the watchful eye of an 
elderly Indian woman. The midday meal was served be- 
tween eleven and twelve. All the provisions were dealt 
out from a common storehouse, each family preparing 
and eating its meal in its own dwelling. Others were 
served at a common table. At two o'clock work was 
resumed. All labor ceased at five when the call of the 



126 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



Angelus gathered all in the chapel where the Litany was 
sung and the blessing imparted. The evening meal was 
eaten at six, and the remainder of the day was passed in 
various games and amusements. 

'The children received special attention. In the morn- 
ing as soon as the grown people had gone to work, and 
in the afternoon before sunset, the Padres gathered the 




LIFE AT A MISSION (SANTA CLARA) 

boys and girls who were five years old and over and gave 
them religious instruction. 

"The Christmas season was the one great time of the 
year for the child-like neophytes. Then they could play 
the coming of the Savior. It was surprising how really 
lifelike they acted the parts of Mary, Joseph, the Shep- 
herds, and the Magi. 

"Skilled teachers from Spain and Mexico instructed 
the neophytes in all kinds of crafts. In many of the mis- 
sions the busy hum of the spindle and loom could be 
heard from morning till night. In this handicraft the 
laughing, dark-eyed Indian girls of the missions were 



THE GREAT SOUTHWEST 127 

equal to our deft-fingered maidens of early New England. 
They even made beautiful lace, drawn-work, and em- 
broidery, specimens of which are still preserved. Many 
women also became dressmakers and tailors. Nor were 
the mission girls and women less skillful in the prepara- 
tion of foods. They were experts even at candy-making. 

"As to the men, some of them were trained as skilled 
carpenters, stone-cutters, brick-layers, blacksmiths, and 
shoemakers. The greater number, however, became 
farmers. And the mission gardens and orchards, sur- 
rounded by swaying fields of yellow corn and grain, were 
beautiful to behold. With open-mouthed wonder, the lit- 
tle Indian children plucked the first golden oranges and 
red-cheeked apples and peaches from the trees. How 
sweet they found the bunches of juicy grapes, too large 
for their little hands to hold! What wonderful sights 
the heavily-laden fruit trees, planted and reared by the 
Padres, must have been to these happy little ones! 

"The Indians were natural herdsmen. Vast herds of 
horses, cattle, and sheep soon grazed upon the rich pasture 
lands surrounding the missions. Some of the missions 
were especially famous for their superb horses. Indeed, 
the Arabs could not have been prouder of their high- 
stepping steeds than the Padres and the natives were 
of these fine horses. Now and then one of the beautiful 
creatures was stolen. Sometimes a thief, who found him- 
self in danger of being detected, turned the animal loose. 
And so wild horses soon became very numerous." 

"What a wonderful story !" exclaimed James. "I never 
had any idea that the missions were so interesting !" 

"There is so much more that might be told. I shall 
mention, however, only two or three more facts of interest 
connected with one or the other of the most noted of the 
missions. When the Padres came to found San Gabriel 



128 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 




mission on a beautiful spot covered with showers of 
goldenrod, they were met by a savage band of Indians 
headed by two fierce-looking chieftains. One of the Padres 
quickly drew a painting of the Blessed Virgin from his 
breast and raised it aloft. The natives instantly threw 

down their bows 
and arrows. The 
two chiefs took 
the strings of 
beads which they 
wore about their 
necks and laid 
t h em on the 
ground before 
the picture to 
show that they 
wished to be 
friends. In a 
similar manner, the picture or statue of the Madonna was 
frequently used by the Padres with the same effect as 
the peace pipe was used by the missionaries among our 
Indians of the Northeast. 

"San Francisco de Assisi was founded a few weeks be- 
fore the feast of St. Francis in the same year in which 
the Declaration of Independence was adopted. Padre 
Serra visited the mission a year later. Standing on the 
southern bank of our present Golden Gate, and gazing 
away over the waters of the channel, he exclaimed fer- 
vently. Thanks be to God that now our Father St. Francis 
has reached the last limit of the California continent. 
To go farther, he must have boats.' The most lively 
imagination of the good Padre, however, could not have 
pictured that silent bay as it is today — the busy meeting- 
place of ships coming from all nations on the globe. 



BELLS OF SAN GABRIEL MISSION 



THE GREAT SOUTHWEST 



129 



"In the history of the mission of San Juan Capistrano, 
Padre Jose stands out an interesting figure. Having 
labored long and hard among his beloved Indians, 
this devoted Padre at length became feeble in body and 
mind. He spent much of his time wandering about the 
fields praying or explaining aloud some part of the Doc- 
trina. One day, while thus occupied, an angry steer 




DISCOVERY OF SAN FRANCISCO BAY 



from a herd of cattle grazing at some distance, made 
straight for the Padre, bellowing and pawing the ground 
as he came. Attracted by the call of the neophytes at work 
near by, the Padre turned about and, seeing the fierce 
creature, cried out, 'Begone, thou spirit of evil.' The 
animal raised his head, looked wonderingly at the fearless 
Padre for a moment, and then trotted away. The Indians, 
ascribing this victory of the simple Padre to his great 
holiness, henceforth looked upon him as a saint. 

"Santa Barbara, cradled as it is between the ocean and 
the hills, has perhaps the most interesting history of all 



130 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

the missions. In its gardens the hooded and sandal- 
footed sons of St. Francis still move about under the trees 
in prayer and study as they did over a hundred years ago. 
Now as then, they courteously show the visitor to the 
ancient chapel, the most substantial of all the mission 
churches. This famous house of prayer is one hundred 
sixty-five feet long and forty feet wide. Its walls of 
sandstone are six feet thick. Its towers rest on thirty 
feet of solid masonry, twenty feet square. A narrow stair- 
way leads to the top of one of these towers in which hang 
six old bells which still call the faithful to prayer even as 
they did in the long ago." 

"How we shall enjoy our visit with the good Padres at 
Santa Barbara!" said James eagerly. "But I can hardly 
wait to hear the rest of the story of the great mission 
work. Did Padre Serra live to see many more missions ?" 

"As the years rolled on the missions flourished more and 
more. Religion and civilization thrived gloriously among 
the once so hopeless natives whom the Padres had gath- 
ered in that grand chain of twenty-one missions on the 
California coast. While Padre Serra and his companions 
were thus civilizing and holding the Pacific coast for the 
United States, Washington and his patriots were fighting 
for American independence on the Atlantic coast." 

Part Two. The Breaking Up of the Missions 

"Padre Serra," continued Brother Jerome, "lived to see 
nine of the twenty-one missions successfully established 
and the presidio at Santa Barbara erected. In the early 
spring of 1784, he set forth to administer the sacrament 
of confirmation to the neophytes gathered in the lower 
missions. In all. Padre Serra confirmed some six thousand 
Indians during his missionary career in California. But 
this was his last visit to his beloved missions. He re- 



THE GREAT SOUTHWEST 131 

turned to San Carlos in August and died shortly after. 
When the bells of the mission tolled forth the sad news, 
the Indians thronged the chapel in great numbers. Touch- 
ing indeed was their sorrow. Even the chieftains mingled 
their tears with those of their tribesmen as they gazed 
for the last time upon their beloved Padre and reverently 
kissed the hem of his garment. While the body was be- 
ing lowered into the grave in the presence of the soldiers 
and the neophytes, the guns and cannon of the fort and 
in the harbor thundered forth a last farewell salute. 

"The companions of Padre Serra, too, had passed away 
one by one, when there came the cruel blow which 
brought destruction to the missions and the neophytes 
gathered in them. For about sixty years, beginning with 
the founding of San Diego, the Padres had governed all 
the mission affairs directly according to instructions re- 
ceived from the Spanish government and the mother- 
house in Mexico. They had absolute possession of the 
mission fields, pastures, flocks, herds, crops and output 
of the workshops. They held charge of all this mission 
property for the sole purpose of guarding and using it for 
the benefit of the Indians. By a treacherous decree of the 
officials of the Mexican colonial government, the neophytes 
were now set free to go where they chose, and the missions 
were transferred just as they stood to the government. 
The Padres might remain as parish priests, if they liked, 
or they might build up new missions elsewhere." 

''What did the Padres do?" asked James. 

"Sorely grieved, they tried their best to keep up the 
mission system and made every effort to convince the 
government that the new plan would bring about the 
destruction of the missions and the ruin of the neophytes, 
but all in vain. Thus it finally came to pass that only 
Santa Barbara remained in charge of the Padres, who 



132 



OUR COUNTRY TN STORY 



attended from here, as a center, to the spiritual needs of 
the surrounding rancherias. But it is not difficult at all 
to foresee the effect the breaking up of the mission sys- 
tem would have upon the neophytes, for they had not 
lived their life of restraint and culture long enough. The 
influence of the Padres once removed, the lands were left 
unfilled, the stock uncared for, and the tools unused. 
The Indians, feeling somewhat as the slaves of the South 




SANTA BARBARA MISSION 

did after our Civil War, became ungovernable under the 
new conditions. So, back to the wild freedom of their 
forefathers they went. Only a comparatively small num- 
ber of them settled in villages and showed in their man- 
ner of living that they knew how to make use of at least 
some of the lessons taught them while under the rule of 
the Padres. Lands, churches, and other mission property 
were wastefully sold,' given away, or destroyed by the 
officials of the government." 

"What a pity !" said James. "But what did the United 
States do when she took possession of California ?" 



THE GREAT SOUTHWEST 133 

"As to the mission buildings," replied Brother Jerome, 
"the United States returned all these to the care of the 
Church. But, alas, it was too late, and, excepting in the 
case of Santa Barbara, nothing but ruins now remains to 
remind us of the glorious achievements of the Padres. 

"And, as to the Indians, they fared no better under 
United States rule than did our northeastern redmen. 
The land occupied by them in the California rancherias 
was frequently dealt out by our government to its settlers, 
regardless of the rights of the owners." 

"How sad," returned James, "for the poor Indians who 
were accustomed to be treated with such disinterested 
kindness by the Padres." 

"Truly," continued Brother Jerome, "it was nothing un- 
common to see a whole rancheria of Indians driven from 
their homes within twenty-four hours ; and scarcely had 
perhaps these same Indians built their adobes and planted 
their fields and started their flocks elsewhere, when this 
same treatment was repeated by other white settlers who 
showed papers from the American government giving 
them a legal claim to the land." 

"Is it surprising that the poor hunted redmen finally 
became a menace to the white settlements? Or need we 
wonder at the fact that the once numerous California 
Indians have largely disappeared, while those who are 
left are but a wretched remnant of the once industrious, 
well-clothed, and well-fed race in charge of the Padres?" 

"But what did finally become of them?" 

"The United States eventually gathered those wretched 
remnants upon reservations established much after the 
manner of the old missions. This effort of our govern- 
ment has met with success and seems so far to be the 
only manner of doing any good among the Indians. In 
the missions, however, the Indians were like children in 



134 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

their parents' home, while on the reservation they may 
be compared with orphans in the care of strangers." 

"It almost seems as if the work of the Franciscan 
Padres in California had been for nothing," said James. 

"Oh, no," declared Brother Jerome earnestly. "The 
good Padres save countless souls for heaven ; they were 
the founders of our State of the Golden Gate ; they were 
the layers of the cornerstone of Western civilization. 
They were priests, patriots, pioneers, founders of mis- 
sions, and captains of industry." 

"Thank you, Brother Jerome," said James, as the two 
rose from their seats under the cross. "It all seems so 
real that I almost forgot that we are only at San Diego 
and are in fact only about to set out on our actual visit 
to the old historical places." 

"Did you know that we are going to travel by way of 
the El Camino Real, or King's Highway ?" 

"No, I didn't," answered James. "And what is this 
El Camino Real, or King's Highway?" 

"Originally it was only a footpath of the Padres con- 
necting the missions one with another. It has since be- 
come a main highway of travel. Along the early Francis- 
can trail, a traveler could go all the way from San Diego 
to San Francisco, a distance of six hundred miles, free 
of expense. On the evening of each day he could enter 
a mission rancheria where he was sure to be warmly wel- 
comed and graciously served with a generous hospitality. 
After a refreshing night's rest and a good breakfast, he 
would be given a fresh horse on which to make his way 
to the next mission ; and thus he could continue day' after 
day until he clasped hands in heartfelt greeting with 
some genial Padre at San Francisco. 

"A truly royal road is this El Camino Real. As we 
follow it from mission to mission we shall once more hear, 



THE GREAT SOUTHWEST 



135 



*m> 



though only in spirit, the chiming bells of the missions, 
and the prayers and songs of the hooded Padres and their 
neophytes. We shall 
behold their beautiful 
gardens, their sweep- 
ing orchards, and their 
splashing fountains; 
and we shall stop for a 
rest in the refreshing 
shade of fair Santa Bar- 
bara, and for a prayer 
at the grave of the 
saintly Padre Serra at 
San Carlos." 

Questions for Thou>?ht 

1. What would most 
probably have been the fate 
of the California natives if 
the Padres had not been the 
first on the scene? 

2. If the Russians had pushed south from Alaska before Spain 
established her missions in California, M^hat change vi^ould the event 
have made in our history and on the map of our country ? 

3. What would you say of the noble work of the Padres ? 

4. If the Indians of the old missions had remained longer — a 
century or two — under the influence of the Padres, do you think that 
they would finally have become self-reliant — capable of living up 
to the standards of civilized people? 

5. Compare the system of our government Indian reservations 
with that employed in the old California missions. 

6. Learn all you can about the ruins of the old mission buildings. 

7. Write in your own words a description of Santa Barbara. 

8. Compare the El Camino Real of the days of the Padres 
with the El Camino Real of today. 




AT THE FOUNTAIN' (II'' SANTA l;AI 
MISSION 



V 

ON THE BANKS OF THE POTOMAC 
1. THE OLD DOMINION 

On our map of the Atlantic seaboard states we find 
Virginia and Maryland forming the fertile banks of the 
beautiful Potomac. In and out between the two states 
winds the noble stream, now wildly, now playfully, until 
it pours peacefully into the broad waters of Chesapeake 
Bay. How neighborly the two states lie side by side, yet, 
how unneighborly too, for, note, they nowhere touch each 
other, except for a short stretch across the bay. This 
close and still distant natural relationship of the two 
Potomac banks illustrates strikingly the close kinship 
and yet also the decidedly contrary views of the people 
who founded the two historic states of Virginia and 
Maryland. It will be interesting for us to live for a while 
in story with these people. 

Let us enter Chesapeake Bay between Cape Charles 
and Cape Henry and make our way through Hampton 
Roads into the James River. If we sail up-stream for 
about twenty miles we will come to a small island which 
at one time was a low, narrow peninsula projecting from 
the right bank of the river. Upon this little island, now 
known as Jamestown Island, we are not long in discover- 
ing the tower of an old brick church built over three 
hundred years ago. We see also a few broken tombstones 
and here and there signs of buried ruins. 

The sight of these ancient relics carries us back in 
history to a beautiful May morning of the year 1607. A 
vast, unbroken wilderness surrounds us. Herds of deer 

136 



ON THI'J HANKS OF THl^J rOTOMAC 



137 



feed peacefully in the open places. Bands of roving sav- 
ages frighten the beautiful creatures and they bound 
away to seek shelter in the nearest thicket. There is, 
however, not as much as a trace of a white man's presence. 
But the wild beauty of nature, softly lit up by the rising 
May sun, gladdens our hearts, and we sit down beneath 
a shady cypress tree growing close to the water's edge. 
Gazing wonderingly down-stream we sight a fleet of three 
small ships slowly moving up the river. The Cross of 




A PAK'I' OK TJIK ATLANTIC SICAHOAHD 



St. George, floating from the flagship, tells us that these 
ships have come from England. 

The three boats are presently moored near a clump of 
trees close to where we are seated, and a band of some 
hundred men, commanded by one whom they call Captain 
Newport, step on land. They promptly begin to fortify 
the place against the natives by running a blockade about 
the peninsula and across its narrow neck. They name 
the river James and the fort Jamestown in honor of the 
reigning English king. 

Thus it came about that a part of the territory of 
North America, which at sunrise of that May day still 
belonged to Spain, was made an English possession by 



138 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

sunset of the same day, for Jamestown in Virginia was 
the first permanent Enghsh settlement in America, and 
with the founding of this colony began England's per- 
manent power in America. 

The Jamestown colony prospered but slowly for many 
years. Its first band of settlers were not the right sort 
of men to make it a success. They had come to America 
with the hope of becoming rich by luck rather than by 
earnest labor. Having landed in May, they had a long 
time before them in which to get settled before the cold 
weather would set in. But, instead of building houses 
for themselves, and raising grain and vegetables and stor- 
ing them away for the winter, they wasted their time 
exploring the country in search of gold and adventure. 
As a result when winter came many of the colonists died 
from sickness, cold, and starvation. Several other bands 
of settlers came to Jamestown but they proved to be no 
better than the first. 

At length, however, a thrifty and cultured class of Eng- 
lish people came to Virginia. Before long, vast planta- 
tions flourished on the banks of the bays and streams. 
On these the planters lived in roomy, comfortable houses. 
These manor houses, as they were called, were surrounded 
by groups of cabins for the servants, and stables for the 
horses. The tables of the Virginians were easily sup- 
plied with vegetables from the gardens, game from the 
forests, and fish from the bays and rivers. Corn-cake 
and hominy took the place of our wheat bread and oat- 
meal. The climate was agreeable and few who had once 
lived in Virginia desired to live elsewhere. 

This better class of settlers who thus eventually se- 
cured the success of the Virginia colony were the parents 
and grandparents of many of the wise and noble men who 
have helped to make our country happy and prosperous 



ON THE BANKS OF THE POTOMAC 



139 



by establishing a government of the people, by the people, 
and for the people. 

Jamestown became no more than a petty village. It 
was finally burned in an uprising and never rebuilt. Only 
the few crumbling ruins on the quiet little island in the 
James River remain to mark the birthplace of our nation. 

Virginia, being the first permanent English settlement 
in America, is the oldest of the thirteen original colonies. 
It is therefore often called the Old Dominion. Though 




VIRGINIA MANOR HOUSE BACK VIEW, SHOVS^ING SLAVE QUARTERS 



this ancient bank of the Potomac sheltered the cradle 
of our nation, it was not the birthplace nor the home of 
religious freedom, without which the people of the United 
States would never have prospered nor have been happy. 
But was England, whence came the Virginia settlers, a 
godless nation? No, but after having been a Catholic 
country for nearly a thousand years, it fell away from 
the ancient faith through Henry VIII. This king had at 
one time defended the Church so well that the Holy Father 
honored him with the title of "Defender of the Faith." 
This title the rulers of England still hold, though wrongly. 
Henry VIII did not remain a loyal son and defender of the 



140 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

Catholic Church. Being refused a divorce from his queen 
Catherine by the Holy Father, he made himself the head 
of the English Church and punished without mercy all 
who refused to acknowledge him as such. 

The settlers of Virginia brought with them their Eng- 
lish religion and their English hatred of everything that 
was Catholic. No Catholic could practice his religion or 
hold office in Virginia. Every Catholic priest was ban- 
ished from the colony. Nevertheless, as the years rolled 
on and on, some of the broader-minded Virginians inserted 
a phrase in our Constitution which secures for the people 
of the United States the great blessing of Religious 
Liberty. This phrase forbids our government to demand 
that we practice any particular religion or any religion 
whatsoever; nor may our government deny us the free 
exercise of any religion. 

2. THE LAND OF THE SANCTUARY 

About twenty-five years before that eventful May day 
on which Jamestown was founded, a small Spanish craft, 
carrying nine Jesuit Fathers and two youthful Indians, 
steered for the eastern bank of the Potomac. One of 
the Indians, the son of a chieftain, was a handsome, 
intelligent-looking youth. He had been educated in Spain 
and had received the name Luis in baptism. He was 
now returning home accompanied by these Jesuit Fathers 
whom, it was hoped, he would help to convert his tribes- 
men. The little company landed on what is now Maryland 
soil. Don Luis led the priests and his Indian companion 
some distance inland and then bade them wait while he 
went to prepare his kinsmen for their coming. 

While waiting for the return of Don Luis, the good 
Fathers offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the first 
time in this wild region. Many were the fervent prayers 



ON THE BANKS OF THE POTOMAC 141 

they sent to Heaven for the welfare of the natives of 
the American wilds whom they longed to meet and teach 
the Word of God. But Don Luis remained away for 
many, many days. And when he did come at last, it was 
— as a murderer. Raising a savage war-cry, his warriors 
answered him and swarmed to the spot. They fell upon 
the missionaries and cruelly killed them, only the Indian 
boy escaping to tell the sad story. 

But the blood of martrys is never shed in vain. Though 
England hated the Catholics and declared that these 
should not settle in its American colonies, the Protestant 
King of this very Protestant nation, nevertheless, per- 
mitted some of his Catholic subjects to found a Catholic 
colony on the eastern bank of the Potomac — on the very 
soil consecrated by the blood of the Jesuit martyrs. 

How came this to pass ? This is the story in brief : The 
English Secretary of State, George Calvert, became an 
ardent Catholic, though he knew that by so doing he 
would have to give up his high position. 

"Your Majesty," he said one day to James I, "I must re- 
sign my post of honor and trust, for I am now a Catholic." 

King James respected the noble Calvert for his courage 
and was very sorry to see him withdraw from office. Wish- 
ing earnestly to assure Calvert of his royal favor, the 
King made him an Irish peer with the title of Lord 
Baltimore. In other words, George Calvert was made 
lord of a manor, or estate, in Ireland by the name of 
Baltimore. 

On the death of James I, Lord Baltimore asked the 
new king, Charles I, for permission to found a Catholic 
colony in America. The new king, too, was desirous of 
keeping Lord Baltimore in England, and even offered to 
excuse him from taking the Oath of Supremacy which 
acknowledged the ruler of England as the supreme head 



142 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

of the Church. But Lord Baltimore could not be in- 
fluenced by the King's fair promises. Then the King, 
wishing to give his noble friend a proof of his high esteem, 
granted him a large tract of land in the New World. "Go 
now," said Charles I to Lord Baltimore, "and plant on 
this goodly land your Catholic colony, which I pray you to 
call Maryland in honor of my queen, Henrietta Marie." 

Lord Baltimore at once set about preparing a charter, 
or writing, which set forth the rights of the new colony 
and provided for its government. King Charles promptly 
approved of this charter when completed, though it was 
more liberal than any that had ever been granted by an 
English ruler. It provided, among other things, for re- 
ligious freedom and secured to the colony the right to 
govern itself quite independently of the sovereign of 
England. In fact, it gave to the proprietor of Maryland 
almost as much power in his colony as the King of Eng- 
land had in his kingdom. 

But before the charter passed the Great Seal, Lord 
Baltimore died, and the grant of Maryland was made over 
to his eldest son, Cecil Calvert, the second Lord 
Baltimore. This lord, thinking that he could best secure 
the success of his colony by remaining at home and there 
defending and supporting its cause, appointed his younger 
brother, Leonard, to govern Maryland in his stead. 

Two ships, the Ark and the Dove, soon set out for the 
New World. They carried twenty men of rank and learn- 
ing with their families, and also some two hundred labor- 
ers and tradesmen. This company was composed of both 
Cathohcs and Protestants. There were as yet no mission- 
aries among them. England, having banished every 
Catholic priest from her domains, had none to give. But 
by an arrangement of Lord Baltimore, four Jesuits — 
Fathers Andrew White and John Altham, and two 



ON THE BANKS OF THE POTOMAC 



143 



Brothers — had come from France to the Isle of Wight and 
there were taken on board the vessels bound for Maryland, 
The emigrants left from Cowes on the Isle of Wight 
on St. Cecilia's day, 1633. After a four months' stormy 
voyage by way of the West Indies, they finally sailed into 
the peaceful waters of Chesapeake Bay. It was a sunny 







LANDING OF THE MARYLAND COLONISTS 



day of March, twenty-seven years after the Jamestown 
settlers had entered the same water. Following the route 
taken by the little Spanish craft which fifty years earlier 
had brought hither the Jesuit missionaries and the treach- 
erous Don Luis, they steered directly for the eastern bank 
of the Potomac and cast anchor near an island not far 
from the shore. Landing on this island, which is now a 
mere sandbank, they called it St. Clement's in honor of the 
day. Holy Mass was celebrated. Then a large cross was 



144 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

erected, and the Litany sung on bended knee and with 
bowed head. 

The island being too small for a settlement, the party 
proceeded upon along the eastern bank of the Potomac in 
search of a better site. They soon came upon an Indian vil- 
lage near the mouth of a small stream. Here they landed 
on the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin in 
1634. It so happened that the natives were about to move 
elsewhere. They therefore gladly sold their village — 
wigwams, cornfields, and all — to Governor Calvert for 
some cloth and various farm and garden tools. 

The chief's wigwam, blessed by Father White, was 
made to serve as the first church of the colony. It being 
a feast of our Blessed Lady, Holy Mass was at once cele- 
brated in her honor. Thus this Holy Sacrifice came to be 
offered again on the very soil on which a half century 
previous the Jesuit martyrs had offered it for the first 
time while waiting for their unfaithful Indian companion 
to return. 

Thus was Maryland piously and peacefully founded in 
a beautiful land of broad streams, fertile plains, gentle 
hills, and green woodlands. Birds of many kinds and 
colors abounded, but of all these none pleased the colon- 
ists so much as did the oriole in its dress of gold and 
black, the colors of the Baltimore servants' uniform. 

Coming as they did in the springtime of the year, the 
settlers of St. Mary's had ample time to build their homes 
and plant and gather their crops of corn and vegetables. 
They labored with willing hands and happy hearts from 
morning till night, and when winter came, they were 
snugly housed, with plenty of crisp cornbread and savory 
wild meat to eat. We are told that the Maryland colony 
advanced more in its first six months of existence than did 
Virginia in as many years. 



ON THE BANKS OF THE POTOMAC 145 

Religious freedom was something unheard of in those 
times. But the Catholic colony of Maryland taught the 
governments of the whole world a beautiful lesson by its 
glorious example. Under its liberal charter, Catholics 
and Protestants lived peacefully side by side. Hither 
came the unhappy and the persecuted of every land and 



A SCENE OX THE POTOMAC 

clime. Well did the colony merit the title of the Land of 
the Sanctuary. 

The word sanctuary as here used means a consecrated 
place which gives protection and shelter to anyone flee- 
ing from injustice or persecution. For instance, if in 
Europe, many years ago, a person accused of crime took 
refuge in a church, he was safe. No officer of the law 
could injure him or take him away. Thus the church 
building, owing to its sacred character, offered to this per- 
son protection and shelter; in other words, it became a 



146 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

sanctuary. In a similar manner Maryland harbored and 
protected Religious Liberty and thus became a Land of the 
Sanctuary, 

In their habits of living, the Maryland colonists dif- 
fered little from their neighbors on the Virginia bank of 
the Potomac. They lived in rich abundance on their flour- 
ishing plantations and farms. Deer, turkeys, and pigeons 
roamed and swarmed in their woodlands ; swans, geese, 
and ducks splashed in their creeks ; and fish, oysters, and 
crabs abounded in the waters that flowed close to their 
doors. 

The family circle was the center of interest and happi- 
ness. The planter's whole heart was with his children ; 
they were his greatest pride. Their innocent laughter and 
play were his sweetest music. Nowhere were family ties 
held more sacred than in Maryland. In these loving, 
cheery homes grew up some of the noblest characters in 
the history of our country. 

This, then, is in short the early history of the Land of 
the Sanctuary. From it we learn that the cradle of the 
Catholic Church in the United States stood on the Mary- 
land bank of the Potomac. This bank of the noble river 
is the birthplace and home of that glorious religious free- 
dom which has made our country the happiest and freest 
among the nations. 

3. MOUNT VERNON 
Part One. With Washington on the Christmas Eve of 1783 

A small boat is steaming peacefully down the Potomac 
River. Its passengers are out for a vacation. Presently 
a little wharf comes in sight some distance down the 
stream. At sight of it, the bell of the steamer is heard 
to toll reverently. 



ON THE BANKS OF THE POTOMAC 147 

"Why does the bell ring in that way, mother?" asks 
a bright-eyed little boy of the lady at his side. 

"We are nearing the home and tomb of the Father of 
our Country," rephes the mother, "and boats passing this 
way always toll their bells as a mark of respect to the 
great man." 




THE WHAKF AT MOUNT VERNON 

The steamer lands its party at the wharf which is none 
other than that from which the great Virginian, George 
Washington, more than a century ago, shipped his farm 
products and at which were unloaded the supplies which 
came to him by water. Let us join the party of tourists as 
they walk up the steep bank of the river and the gently 
sloping lawn to the great portico, or porch, of the Mount 
Vernon mansion. 



148 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



"But," you will say, "Washington has been dead for 
more than a hundred years. After all, this grand old 
place can scarcely be the same Mount Vernon that it was 
in the lifetime of its famous master." 

"Very true, but this is, nevertheless, still the Mount 
Vernon of old, without, of course, its worthy tenants of 
old. The gardens, the house, the cabins of the servants, 
the very rooms still appear as nearly as possible as they 




MOUNT VERNON 

did in the days of the great George Washington. And 
this splendid preservation of the old historic place we owe 
to a society of noble women. When neither the National 
nor the Virginia State government would purchase Mount 
Vernon from the last descendant of Washington who 
owned it, these good ladies banded together and started 
a Mount Vernon fund. With liberal contributions from 
the various states, amounting to two hundred thousand 
dollars, they bought about two hundred thirty acres of the 
old estate. The purchase included the tomb, the mansion, 
attendant buildings, and the wharf. Gradually the scat- 



ON THE BANKS OF THE POTOMAC 149 

tered original articles of furniture and the personal be- 
longings of Washington were recovered and the old his- 
toric place made to look quite as it did in the long ago — 
so much so that its very nooks and corners seem fairly- 
alive with memories of past events. 

Here is Washington's bedroom, preserved as when the 
great, good man breathed his last. His curtained bed- 
stead, military trunk, arm chair, and other articles are 
all here just as they were over a hundred years ago. On 
the floor above is the sleeping room used by Martha Wash- 
ington after her husband's death. According to a custom 
of that time, the General's room was closed after his 
death; and Mrs. Washington chose this attic chamber 
for herself because from its only window she could see 
the tomb of her husband. 

Here, too, is the gentle lady's living-room. Let us sit 
down in it for a rest. How quiet, how peaceful this an- 
cient apartment ! We forget the present — we forget our- 
selves, and, slipping off into the broad land of memory, 
we imagine that we are seated here a few days before 
Christmas in 1783. Martha Washington, the mistress 
of Mount Vernon, has just returned from her seven o'clock 
breakfast. She is a woman of fifty-five years, rather 
below the middle size. How pleasing is that fair, calm 
face with its regular features and hazel eyes ! Her white- 
powdered hair is neatly gathered up in a dainty frill cap. 
The two front corners of the large white handkerchief 
about her neck are fastened beneath the belt of her pure- 
white apron. A goodly bunch of keys is hanging from her 
girdle. What a charming and motherly little woman she 
is ! How winning her frank, pleasing manners and quiet 
dignity ! 

Before Martha became mistress of Mount Vernon, she 
had been married to Colonel Custis. She had seen much 



150 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



sorrow during this time, having buried one after another, 
her husband and three children. Only one child, a son, 
was left to her. Long after she had gone to live at Mount 
Vernon this son died, leaving four children. The two 
youngest of these, Nellie and George Custis, came to live 
with their grandmother. The bright-eyed boy and the 
lively little girl helped to make the Mount Vernon home 
more cheery, and both General Washington and Mrs. 
Washington were very fond of the two children. 

Let us make a morning 
call on Mrs. Washington in 
the great working room. 
What an interesting sight 
we behold ! Mrs. Washington 
and a seamstress are busily 
engaged cutting out winter 
clothing for the negroes of 
the plantation. Some young 
negro girls are taking les- 
sons in making the garments. 
Others, under the supervi- 
sion of Mrs. Washington, are 
busy knitting warm stock- 
ings and mittens. What an 
example of industry is this 
wife of General Washington ! We are told that there were 
times when lessons in reading, churning of butter, and 
spinning of wool, all went on at the same time in this 
large cheerful room, so nicely arranged for all sorts of 
work. 

There comes a day when there will be no lessons. It is 
two days before Christmas. The whole house is alive 
with busy servants making preparations for Christmas 
Day. "The General is coming home! Coming home to 




From the iialnting by Stuart 

MARTHA WASHINGTON 



ON THE BANKS OF THE POTOMAC 151 

stay! Mistress Washington is going to drive over to 
Annapolis to meet him," is the happy news which passes 
from hp to lip. 

It is still early morning. Mrs. Washington, all dressed 
for a journey, climbs into her big coach. Four fine bay 
horses carry her speedily over the road leading to Anna- 
polis where she will meet the General who is meanwhile 
coming down from New York. 

Christmas eve has come. The air is as mild and balmy 
as if it were Indian summer. Night is beginning to fall 
when there is a stir and a bustle and a hustle, first in the 
house, and then on the grounds. Let us slip out on the 
portico. Coming up the road can be seen the big coach 
with its four fine bay horses. At the gate are gath- 
ered about one hundred and fifty negroes. They are 
loyally devoted to their master, and shout for very joy 
when they see him alight from his coach. Some of the 
more privileged ones press forward to shake hands with 
him. All are laughing and talking and making merry. 
And now begins such thundering of cannon and firing 
of guns that the master almost thinks himself back on 
the battlefield. But the happy negroes have chosen this 
manner of showing their joy at the master's return. 

Now the master and mistress are coming toward the 
portico. Let's hurry back to our quiet nook in the cheer- 
ful sitting-room. We sit quietly and wait patiently. Now 
they are coming. The door opens — what a picture ! In the 
streaming light of the candles stand General Washington 
and Mrs. Washington, the master and mistress of fair 
Mount Vernon. 

The General is a strong, handsome man, over six feet 
high. His manner and his walk are dignified. Behold 
his great, kindly face! Those large, blue-gray eyes set 
far apart in deep sockets and shadowed by heavy brows 



152 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



tell of a slow but sure mind. His firmly closed mouth and 
square chin show great moral and physical courage. His 
pale, serene features express a world of feeling, balanced 
by a masterful self-control. He is still clad in his soldier's 
uniform of buff and blue, and his cloak of scarlet and 
white. He has been gone nine years and during all this 
time has made only two hurried visits to Mount Vernon. 

The thirteen colonies had 
long complained against 
England, their mother coun- 
try. They had claimed that 
the king was trying to rule 
them contrary to their rights 
as English people. So they 
had finally united and taken 
up arms against England. 
It was Washington who had 
led the colonial armies victo- 
riously through the great 
war of the Revolution. The 
thirteen colonies were no 
longer subject to England. 
They had become a nation. 
And now their hero has at 
length returned to his peaceful home, here to live once 
more the quiet, happy life of a Virginia planter. 

Washington does not hear the cannonading and the 
shouting which the servants are keeping up in his honor. 
He has lived through much during his long absence from 
home. He has much to think of. It seems but yesterday 
that he took command of the American army under the 
elm tree at Cambridge. On that memorable July day, 
1775, as the troops passed before him, Daniel Morgan, 
too, came with his Virginia riflemen. Saluting Wash- 




Fnjiii the ijaiutiiig by Stuart 

GEORGE WASHINGTON 



ON THE BANKS OF THE POTOMAC 153 

ington, he said gallantly, "From the right bank of 
the Potomac, General!" Deeply touched, Washington 
quickly dismounted and with tear-dimmed eyes shook 
hands with each man in turn — these were his own 
neighbors. 

Scenes like these must be passing before the great 
man's mind as he sits before the cheerful fireplace and 
recalls, one by one, the events of that long and trying 
war. He thinks of the lives that were lost, of the suf- 
ferings endured, of the sore defeats, and of the victories 
won. How well he must remember that New Year's day 
of 1776 when the Union Flag containing thirteen stars 
and thirteen stripes was hoisted for the first time. Nor 
could he have forgotten the Fourth of July of 1776 when 
the thirteen colonies declared themselves independent 
of England. All morning the question was discussed 
and during all this time, we are told, the bell-man sat 
in the belfry waiting for a signal from below. "Ah!" 
he groaned, "they will never do it. They dare not do it." 
Just then he heard the eager clapping of childish hands 
and the sound of a boyish voice shouting, "Ring, Grandpa, 
ring! Ring for Liberty!" For two hours the bell rang 
forth the joyful peal that proclaimed liberty to all the 
land. 

How fresh in Washington's mind must have been the 
memory of the sad winter at Valley Forge in Pennsyl- 
vania. Most of his soldiers were in rags, with no shoes 
to wear, and worse than this, with no bread to eat. Heart- 
sick at the sight of the sufferings of his men, he one day 
sank upon his knees under the frosty trees of the woods 
and, with streaming tears, prayed to God for help and 
guidance. 

At length the long and awful struggle came to an end 
when, on October 19, 1781, the English commander. Corn- 



154 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



wallis, surrendered his entire army of eight thousand 
men to Washington at Yorktown. The thirteen original 
colonies were now English colonies no longer, but free 
and independent states. And the final battle for this 
Independence was won on the Virginia bank of the Poto- 
mac not far from the site of Jamestown. 

Then a swift horseman 
was sent from camp to 
Philadelphia, the capital of 
our country during the war. 
Soon the watchmen went 
shouting through the 
streets, "Past two o'clock 
and Cornwallis is taken!" 
Lights flashed from the 
windows. Crowds of peo- 
ple, wild with joy, thronged 
the streets. They fell into 
each others' arms and shook 
each other by the hand. 
The old door-keeper of 
Congress died of joy. The 

liberty bell rang long and loud. Cannon were fired and 
bonfires lighted. Messengers sped like the wind to every 
town and village of the land. 

After the victory at Yorktown, Washington went to see 
his mother in the old home at Fredericksburg. He found 
her alone. She was, as usual, busy with her household 
duties. The meeting between the mother and her great 
son was one of affectionate simphcity. They talked of 
George's boyhood home, of things that had happened so 
many years before, of old times and old friends. But 
never did the mother mention a word of her son's honor 
and fame, perhaps because she knew how much he dis- 




WASHINGTON FRAYING IN THE FOREST 



ON THE BANKS OF THE POTOMAC 155 

liked spoken praise. She herself held flattery so cheap 
that no one dared offer it to her. 

But Washington's work as commander-in-chief of the 
army was not yet finished. He was obliged to return to 
his army stationed on the Hudson. Peace was signed with 
England at Paris only in September, 1783. The last Brit- 
ish troop sailed for home two months later. Then Wash- 
ington gathered his officers about him at New York for 
a last farewell. With a warm grasp of the hand and a 
a last look of tender and grateful affection, he turned from 
them and passed from the room to journey homeward. 

And now he is here once more in his own Mount Vernon 
home on the bank of the noble Potomac. It is nine o'clock. 
The noise of the firearms has ceased, for the negroes know 
that their master and mistress nearly always go to bed 
at this hour. Martha, entering the room, gently bids 
Washington retire for the night. On going to bed, he 
takes off his uniform for the last time and lays it care- 
fully away, together with his sword. How comfortable 
he must find his soft, downy bed after the soldier's bed 
he has known for so many years! As he breathes the 
fresh air of his own beloved home, can there be a happier 
man than he on this Christmas eve of 1783? Tomorrow 
morning he will come to his Christmas breakfast as a 
plain Virginia planter, free from the worry and bustle 
of the camp and the busy scenes of public life, so he 
thinks. He does not see in this happy hour that his past 
services to his country have but prepared him for still 
greater ones. 

The tolling of the bell on the Potomac below awakens 
us out of our day-dreams and brings us back to the pres- 
ent. We remember that we are living now and not then, 
and that we have but reviewed in fancy and memory a 
beautiful story of the long ago. But Mount Vernon, the 



156 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



scene of this true picture of fancy, is as real today as it 
was then. 



Part Two. Washington as Master or Mount Vernon 
AND First Head of Our Nation 

Let us tarry a while longer at Mount Vernon. The sum- 
mer house yonder overlooking the river must have been a 







m. 


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Nurse (icurye l.al'avctto 
Oustis 



W ish'motou Mis. Custis Nellie Martha 

Ciistis Washington 



favorite resort of the Washingtons. It is a fine place for 
us to sit and recall some of the interesting events con- 
nected with the past history of Mount Vernon. Do look 
at those ancient trees Washington loved so well. Yonder 
two trees were planted, one by the French nobleman, La- 
fayette, the other by Jefferson. What fine leafy monu- 
ments they are! 

How Washington must have enjoyed the quiet of this 



ON THE HANKS OF THE POTOMAC 157 

beautiful place after returning from the bloody scenes 
of war and strife! Many were the gifts of esteem and 
affection that came to him here from his countrymen, 
from private Englishmen, and from kings of Europe. 
Frederick the Great of Prussia inscribed upon his gift, 
a handsome sword, "From the oldest general in the world 
to the greatest." 

Washington once more became entirely absorbed in the 
management of his plantation. The estate had grown to 
cover an immense area of about eight thousand acres. 
It had naturally been greatly neglected during its master's 
long absence, but he quickly went to work at building it up 
again. Most dear to him was the ideal country life which 
he now led. His flower garden was the pride of his heart. 
How he did delight in his flourishing wheat and sheep 
farms ! In truth. Mount Vernon with its overseers and 
many negro slaves, was not unlike a little kingdom, with 
the exception, however, that its head was not a king, but 
rather a father. The great man had learned to govern 
others by first governing himself. He had a very high 
temper which could break forth in frightful wrath; but 
he had acquired a wonderful mastery over it. Our Wash- 
ington was truly noble in everything. Not even to the 
humblest did he fail in due respect. No negro ever failed 
to receive an acknowledgment of his bow. 

Washington was exceedingly fond of fishing and of the 
chase. The Potomac was fairly stocked with fish ; and the 
borders of the estate, washed by more than ten miles of 
tide water, formed one great fishery. As a fisherman, our 
hero was most successful and it was often playfully said 
that all the fish came to his hook. Dense woods and wild 
dells still covered much of the estate and formed a vast 
hunting-ground, abounding with deer and lurking foxes. 
The Mount Vernon fox hunts were great events in Fair- 



158 OUR COUNTRY fN STORY 

fax County, and Washington's fine horses and packs of 
splendid hounds were famous throughout the country. 

As for Martha Washington, she was a typical Virginian 
housewife. She prudently directed her numerous serv- 
ants and was a charming and gracious hostess to the 
many visitors who came and went at Mount Vernon. 
"There is always a bit of mutton and a glass of wine for 
a friend," Washington would say. And the warm wel- 
come of the mistress made both most palatable. 

Meanwhile the thirteen independent states had learned 
that they must have some strong central power to hold 
them together if they wished to become a united nation. 
Whom could they best entrust with this power? They 
knew no one worthier of the high office of chief of the 
nation than George Washington. 

And thus the master of Mount Vernon had scarcely 
spent five years in happy retirement when he was again 
called into public life. He would much rather not have 
accepted this high office ; but duty called him and he went. 

Before leaving for New York, he galloped up to Fred- 
ericksburg to see his aged mother. He found her ailing 
and feeble. "This will be our last meeting on earth," she 
said. And laying her wasted hand upon the noble head 
bowed to her shoulder, she told him that Heaven's and 
his mother's blessing would always be with him. He 
parted tenderly with her at the door and then hastened 
away with a sad misgiving in his strong, loving heart. 
He never saw her again. She was tenderly laid at rest a 
few months later when he was far away in New York with 
no electric wires nor railroad trains to call and bring him 
back in due time to receive his mother's dying blessing. 

After leaving his mother, Washington hastened to New 
York to assume the duties of his new charge. All along 
his journey he was shown the greatest honors. There 



ON THE BANKS OF THE POTOMAC 159 

were joyous music and ringing of bells. Great crowds of 
people met him everywhere, singing and cheering and 
bearing flowers to strew before him. These loud rejoic- 
ings, however, were painful to him. Not that he did not 
value the love and confidence of his people, but he shrank 
from the important and difficult duties imposed upon him. 




WASHINGTON ENTERING NEW YORK 

For, as the first President of the young nation, Washing- 
ton was expected not only to govern that still .unsettled 
nation wisely, but also to shape it into a successful repub- 
hc, such as had never been heard of before. Notwith- 
standing, the great man entered resolutely upon his duties 
as first President of the United States on April 30, 1789. 
His faith in God, in himself, and in his people made him 
equal to the task. 

Thus the Virginia bank of the Potomac gave our nation 
its first political head. Sincere good wishes and assur- 



160 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

ances of good will soon came to this illustrious chief from 
the Maryland bank of the river in the form of a letter 
written in behalf of the Catholics of the United States. 
Washington was greatly pleased with this letter and 
wrote a worthy answer in return. It closed with these 
words: "I thank you, gentlemen, for your kind concern 
for me. And may the members of your society in Amer- 
ica, animated alone by the pure spirit of Christianity and 
still conducting themselves as the faithful subjects of 
our free government enjoy every temporal and spiritual 
felicity." How the public views as to religious freedom 
must have changed when a Virginian at the head of a 
largely Protestant population could thus openly express 
his esteem for his Catholic countrymen ! 

When thinking of Washington in his public office as 
chief of the nation, we naturally wonder whether Mrs. 
Washington accompanied him on his journey to the capi- 
tal city. Mrs. Washington disliked leaving her quiet, 
pleasant life at Mount Vernon as much as did her hus- 
band, but she followed within a month after his departure. 
Accompanied by Miss Nellie and Master George, she set 
out for New York in her own carriage with an escort of 
horsemen. Amid loud cheers and the booming of can- 
non, she entered the presidential mansion. This new 
manner of life was not to her taste, but she was a true 
woman and knew how to fit herself to her new position. 
She performed her duties of "first lady" of the land as 
faithfully and as charmingly as she had discharged her 
humbler employments as thrifty mistress of the Mount 
Vernon plantation. No one was happier, however, than 
she and her husband when, on March 9, 1797, a coach 
drawn by six bay horses flanked by outriders stopped be- 
fore the door of the president's mansion to bring General 
and Mrs. Washington and their grandchildren back to 



ON THE BANKS OF THE POTOMAC IGl 

Virginia. Both had acted their parts well. They had 
trained themselves always to think first of duty and last 
of themselves. And herein lay their greatness. 

Washington had served eight years and refused a third 
term. He had given the best of his life to his country, 
and now retired to his Virginia home to spend his remain- 
ing years among the scenes he loved so well. But the 
angel of death hovered near to bear away the beloved 
master of fair Mount Vernon. The great man lived only 
two years after retiring from the presidency. He died, 
loved and honored by all as the Father of his Country 
who had been "first in war, first in peace," and who is 
"first in the hearts of his countrymen." 

The lonely mistress of Mount Vernon lingered only a 
few years longer. And in the bright springtime of the 
year she was borne from her attic room and laid by the 
side of our Washington in the family vault. Let us walk 
over to visit the famous tomb. Its site was selected and 
the vault planned by Washington himself shortly before 
his death. Do you see within the double iron portals 
those two coffin-like tombs? The one on the right con- 
tains the body of General Washington and the one on 
the left that of his wife. 

We have now enjoyed a long and interesting visit here 
at Mount Vernon. As we turn away from this fair relic 
of the past and from the memories that make it sacred, 
our gaze wanders across the broad waters of the Potomac 
to the Maryland hills beyond, and we ask : "Has the Land 
of the Sanctuary kept pace with the Old Dominion in 
providing noble men who did much to make our country 
great and its people happy?" 



162 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

4. TWO GREAT SONS OF MARYLAND 
Part One. Our First American Bishop 

Once again a feast of our Blessed Lady marked an im- 
portant event in our country's history. This time it was 
the festival of her assumption into heaven. On this day 
in 1790 the college chapel of a lordly castle in south'ern 
England had been beautifully adorned and prepared for 
a most solemn celebration. Let us place ourselves among 
the attentive worshippers. All is hushed in silent expecta- 
tion. Now a procession of venerable men, clad in sacred 
vestments, files into the sanctuary. The ceremonies be- 
gin. A new bishop is consecrated. And this new bishop, 
rather low in stature, but most venerable and dignified — 
who can he be ? He is none other than the Right Rever- 
end John Carroll, a native of the Maryland bank of the 
Potomac, whom the Holy Father had appointed first 
bishop of the United States the previous year. 

Thus the Land of the Sanctuary gave to the Catholics 
of our country their first spiritual head in the same year 
that the Old Dominion gave to this nation its first polit- 
ical head. What a privilege to have been one of the 
honored company on the ship that carried the venerable 
prelate back to the banks of the Potomac ! Safely it bore 
.him across the deep blue waters of the mighty Atlantic 
and up Chesapeake Bay to Baltimore, our first bishop's 
city, or episcopal see. Who can describe the joy of the 
Catholic people upon his arrival ? How warmly they wel- 
comed their first bishop ! With what reverence and grati- 
tude they knelt for his blessing. 

It is an interesting fact that Bishop Carroll was, both 
going and coming, a fellow-voyager of Mr. Madison, who 
had also been in England to be created the Protestant 
Episcopal Bishop of Virginia. This Protestant dignitary 



ON THE BANKS OF THE POTOMAC 



163 



formed an acquaintance with the CathoUc prelate and ever 
after remained sincerely devoted to him. 

"But," you may say, "when the colonizers of Maryland 
set out for their new home in 1633, England had no priests 
to give them. How then did this nation now have a 
Catholic prelate to consecrate our first bishop?" 

England had meanwhile 
learned from events in other 
countries and from her own 
experiences with her Amer- 
ican colonies, that unjust 
laws can bring only mis- 
fortune and ruin upon a na- 
tion. Furthermore, thou- 
sands of priests fleeing from 
persecution in France, found 
refuge in England. The 
presence and example of 
these venerable exiles great- 
ly influenced many of the 
English people; and they 
gradually began to realize 

that their narrow ideas and fiendish hatred of every- 
thing that was Catholic was most unreasonable and was 
frequently based on mere ignorance. 

Accordingly, the laws against Catholics became a little 
less severe in England, though justice was still dealt out 
to them very grudgingly. Catholic bishops and priests 
were consequently once more tolerated in England. Before 
the Revolution, the Bishop of London, or Vicar Apostolic, 
had charge of the affairs of the Catholic Church in the 
English colonies. Therefore, Father Carroll, upon receiv- 
ing the news of his appointment from the Holy Father, 
Pius VI, proceeded to England for consecration.. 




BISHOP CARROLL 



164 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

But this was not the first time that Bishop Carroll went 
and came across the broad Atlantic. Our priestly hero 
was born in Maryland in 1735. His pious parents were 
anxious to give him a good Catholic schooling. But alas, 
a sad change had come over Maryland. It no longer har- 
bored and sheltered religious liberty. What had hap- 
pened? Had the Maryland Catholics become untrue to 
themselves? Oh, no! But in the course of time the 
Protestant settlers had increased so as to greatly out- 
number the Catholics. They gained control of the govern- 
ment and made laws that forbade Catholics to hold office, 
vote, or attend Catholic worship. Catholics were even 
fined for not assisting at Protestant church service and 
were forbidden to open Catholic schools for their children. 

Nevertheless, some Jesuit Fathers quietly opened a 
boarding school in a secluded spot upon their own estate 
without attracting the attention of the law. The future 
first Bishop of the United States attended this school 
for one year and then crossed the Atlantic to enter a 
Jesuit college in France. Here he was much admired 
for his remarkable intelligence and piety. His gentle, 
winning manners made him a general favorite among his 
companions. He entered the Society of Jesus at the age 
of eighteen and was ordained priest in 1769. 

He had always desired to go to Maryland as a Jesuit 
missionary. But before his wishes could be granted, the 
Society was suppressed throughout the whole Christian 
world. Pope Clement XIV, painfully pressed from all 
sides, was forced to choose between two great evils: 
He must either displease some of the sovereigns of 
Europe and see a number of the Catholic countries sepa- 
rate from the Church or he must suppress the Society of 
Jesus. He most unwillingly chose the latter, this seeming 
to him the lesser evil. The governments of Europe now 



ON THE BANKS OF THE POTOMAC 165 

everywhere deprived the Jesuits of their property and 
turned them out of their homes which had so long been 
the seats of learning and religion. 

Father Carroll, sorely grieved, withdrew to England 
where he became chaplain in the castle of Lord Arundel. 
Upon hearing that the American colonies were about to 
take up arms against England, the patriotic priest left 
the comforts and luxuries of his new home and hastened 
back to his native land. What a joy to meet again his 
beloved mother, his sisters, and many of the friends of his 
youthful days ! He had left home a bright boy of fourteen 
and returned a venerable priest of forty years. 

There was then not one Catholic Church open in Mary- 
land. Only under the family roof could divine services 
be held. In what was once the Land of the Sanctuary, 
there were then only nineteen Catholic priests. All of 
these, like Father Carroll, had been Jesuits. They lived 
chiefly on their own lands and attended, so far as the 
law permitted, to the wants of the Catholics who dwelt 
in the surrounding country. 

Father Carroll took up his abode with his aged mother. 
At first he held divine services in a room of her dwelling, 
and later in a wooden chapel near by. A neat brick 
church, known as Carroll's chapel, now marks the spot 
of the ancient little house of worship. The good priest 
labored zealously among the Catholics in the neighboring 
country. Traveling on horseback, he made long journeys 
visiting the scattered Catholic families and settlements 
of Maryland. 

It may be interesting to know that in spite of the 
religious bigotry in Virginia, this state, nevertheless, 
contained a spot, at Woodstock, Stafford County, in which 
a band of some two hundred Catholics, by a special 
privilege of James II of England, practiced their religion 



166 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

freely. Two of Father Carroll's married sisters lived 
there. Once a month their Reverend brother crossed the 
Potomac in disguise to attend to the spiritual affairs of 
this little body of Catholics. He thereby exposed himself 
to great dangers and generally slept in the stable beside 
his horse that he might be prepared for sudden flight. 

Throughout the dark hours of the War for Independ- 
ence, Father Carroll attended faithfully to his scattered 
flock. After the Revolution he was appointed by the 
Holy Father to be the Prefect Apostolic, or superior, of 
the American Church. This office invested him with 
powers to bless the holy oils and to confer the sacrament 
of confirmation which had never before been adminis- 
tered in what was then the United States. Five years 
later he entered upon his duties as our first Bishop. 

The new Bishop's task was a trying one. The dark 
times of persecution had passed, it is true, but they had 
left ignorance and loss of faith behind. Many of his 
Catholic people had not even seen a priest for years. 
In some instances, only the day of First Holy Com- 
munion and the religious practices of childhood lingered 
like a happy dream in the memory. But the zealous 
Bishop, like another St. Paul, "became all to all." Every- 
one, the great and the lowly, the good and the bad, the 
rich and the poor, the learned and the unlearned, felt 
at ease in his presence. His virtues, his dignity, and 
his mildness won all hearts. 

The zealous Bishop entru'jted the education of young 
girls and the care of the sick and the orphans to religious 
women of the various pioneer Sisterhoods — the Carmel- 
ites, the Visitation Nuns, and the Sisters of Charity. To 
give his Catholic boys and young men an opportunity of 
receiving an education right at home without endanger- 
ing their faith, he opened a college at Georgetown in 



ON THE BANKS OF THE POTOMAC 



167 



1791. St. Mary's Seminary at Baltimore, an institution 
for the training of young men for the priesthood, was 
opened in the same year. 

When the httle college of Georgetown, now a Univer- 
sity and the oldest Catholic seat of learning in the United 
States, was yet surrounded by a white-washed picket 
fence, it was one day honored by a visit from President 




GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY 



Washington. On dismounting from his horse, the great 
man was warmly welcomed by the professors and shown 
through the building. He admired the grand view which 
the college enjoys from its beautiful heights. Just then 
an icy winter breeze sweeping by made the party shiver 
and Washington remarked: "I see you have to purchase 
the beauties of nature in summer by the winter's storm." 
Bishop Carroll's flock, consisting of all the Catholics 
of the entire United States, numbered about fifty thou- 
sand and was scattered over an immense territory ex- 



168 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

tending from Maine to Florida and westward to Michigan. 
Means of travel being so few and slow, it was well-nigh 
impossible for the good Bishop to locate his people and 
minister to their wants with the few priests he had. 
Meanwhile the French Revolution, known as the "reign 
of terror," caused a great number of French priests to 
seek refuge from persecution in America. These zealous 
exiles were men of great refinement, virtue, and learning. 
Six of them eventually became bishops. 

To the great joy of Bishop Carroll, the Jesuits too 
came again to Maryland. He had always deeply grieved 
Qver the suppression of his Society, and had fondly hoped 
to see it restored. At last, in 1805, he himself, with 
the permission of the Holy Father, re-established it in 
the United States. It had been restored in Russia five 
years previous and was nine years later revived in the 
whole Christian world. 

The number of his priests having been thus increased. 
Bishop Carroll was enabled to supply his widely scattered 
flock with faithful shepherds. Though his cares and 
labors were many and great, his faith and zeal were 
greater still. The progress of the Catholic Church in 
America under his wise direction was wonderful. In 
1808, only eighteen years after his consecration, the good 
prelate was created Archbishop. Four new dioceses were 
formed with a bishop's seat at New York, Philadelphia, 
Boston, and Bardstown. 

The noble prelate sincerely loved his country; and no 
one valued more than he the religious freedom for which 
the Constitution provided. In fact, we are much indebted 
to Bishop Carroll's influence for that portion of our 
national laws which forbids the government to meddle 
with the liberty of conscience of its people. 

Beautiful above all was the great Bishop's private life. 



ON THE BANKS OF THE POTOMAC 169 

His simple faith and piety were remarkable. No matter 
how pressing his duties might be, he kept up to the end 
of his days the good old custom of gathering at appointed 
hours all the members of his household, black and white, 
for morning and evening prayers. 

Archbishop Carroll lived to the good old age of eighty. 
Shortly before his death he declared that one of the 
things that consoled him most in his last moments was 
his life-long devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. "I 
have taught devotion to the Mother of God to the people 
under my care," he said, "and have also placed my diocese 
under her motherly protection." 

Death came to him gently, as if it feared to lay its 
hand upon one whose life had been so fair, so true, so 
beautiful. The Catholic Church in the United States has 
grown and prospered gloriously since those early times, 
but the people of this grand repubhc will ever think with 
pride and veneration of their first Bishop and Archbishop, 
the most Reverend John Carroll, who was also a sincere 
friend and revered adviser of their first president, the 
great George Washington. 

Part Two. The Last of the Signers 

The American people will never forget the illustrious 
cousin of their first Archbishop, the noble Charles Carroll 
of Carrollton. Shall we visit for a few moments with this 
great man? Yes, for better company we could scarcely 
choose. So let us fancy ourselves living about one hun- 
dred years ago. From a landing on the western shore 
of Chesapeake Bay, we direct our steps toward a splendid 
manor house in Anne Arundel County of Maryland. 

Near the house has been erected an elegant chapel. 
We enter this abode of prayer. It is the morning hour 
of the day and we find the whole numerous household 



170 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



assembled to assist at Holy Mass. A priest proceeds to 
the altar. He is accompanied by an acolyte. But behold 
this acolyte ! — Who is he ? — A fair, young child in cassock 
and surplice ? No ; he is an aged man of more than eighty 
years. See how reverently he moves about ! Could there 
be a more charming picture of simple, child-like faith? 

Now the sacred serv- 
ices are ended. The 
priest has left the 
altar. The pious wor- 
shippers, too, have 
gone. Only the aged 
acolyte remains. He 
is kneeling, deeply 
bowed, before the al- 
tar, breathing forth 
a parting prayer to 
his hidden God. 

Now he rises to 
leave the chapel. 
How tall and erect 
he is ! How dignified 
his walk ! We hasten 
to meet him at the door. He extends both hands in warm- 
est welcome, and as we lay ours in his and raise our eyes 
to meet his gaze, we unconsciously ask ourselves, "Did 
you ever see a more interesting, winning face than that 
of this aged man?" It combines all the sweetness of 
innocent childhood with the strength of intelligent old 
age. The high and open forehead is wreathed about by 
waving flakes of snow-white hair. A clear, mild light 
gleams from his aged eyes, and an expression of goodness 
surrounds his lips. 

This grand old man is Charles Carroll of Carrollton., 




ciiAi;!>i;s c'AHKOiJ. OK cAiaioLi/rox 



ON THE BANKS OF THE POTOMAC 171 

one of the noblest of our country's heroes. He was born 
in AnnapoUs, Maryland, and was a companion of his 
cousin John Carroll while the latter attended the Jesuit 
school in Maryland. After spending one year in this 
school, he crossed the ocean to continue his education in 
France and England. After an absence of seventeen years, 
he returned to his native bank of the Potomac, an accom- 
plished Catholic gentleman. 

Many were the services to his state and country as a 
friend and protector of freedom and religion. He was 
one of the fifty-six brave men who signed the Declaration 
of Independence in 1776. Each of the noble band of 
signers knew that in case the colonies did not win in 
the struggle for Independence, he would have to pay for 
his signature with his life. And when Charles Carroll, 
who was then the richest man in America, wrote his 
name in a clear, bold hand on the precious document, 
someone remarked, 'There go millions." 

"No," replied another. "There are several Charles 
Carrolls; no one will know which of them wrote this 
name." 

On hearing the remark, the fearless Charles Carroll 
promptly added to his name the phrase, "of Carrollton," 
saying, "They cannot mistake me now !" Carrollton was 
the name of one of his estates. 

Forty-nine years had elapsed since that Fourth of July 
on which the Thirteen Colonies had declared themselves 
independent of England. On the morning of the fiftieth 
anniversary, on the Golden Jubilee of American Inde- 
pendence, there were still living three of the famous 
fifty-six patriots of 1776— Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, 
and Charles Carroll of Carrollton. 

How the people loved and esteemed these aged heroes ! 
Their names were mingled with the national songs and 



172 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



rejoicings of the day. But Jefferson and Adams both 
passed away on that same day. These two great men 
stood side by side during the dark days of the Revolution. 
Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, and 
Adams did more than anyone else to persuade his coun- 
trymen to adopt it. Adams was ninety-one when he died. 




SIGNING OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 

Even while death was coming upon him he remembered 
his old friend and said, "Jefferson still lives." 

But Jefferson had died two hours before. He was 
eighty-three years of age and had anxiously wished that 
he might live to see this Fourth of July. On the day 
previous he asked again and again upon rousing from 
his naps, 

"Is this the Fourth?" "No, not yet," they answered, "but 
'twill soon be early morn; 
We will wake you, if you slumber, when the day begins 
to dawn." 

Now that Jefferson and Adams had both passed away, 
the venerable Charles Carroll alone remained. "All have 



ON THE BANKS OF THE POTOMAC 173 

gone," he whispered, as he recalled the scenes of the 
Declaration and the names of his companions in the good 
work. "They are no more," he said. "But Heaven was 
pleased with that perilous Fourth of July of 1776, and 
the land of my birth has become a mighty nation. God 
be thanked for letting me live to see it." 

Two years later we behold the aged patriot of ninety- 
one years performing his last act of public service to 
his country. Can you picture his erect, aged form stand- 
ing upon a free space of ground under the open heavens 
at Baltimore ? Throngs of eager people crowd about him. 
A band of workmen are waiting for a signal to begin 
work on our first railroad. Who is to give the signal for 
starting ? The great Charles Carroll. All eyes are turned 
toward him. With a hand as firm as when it signed the 
Declaration, he turns the first spadeful of earth and 
drives the first spike. Instantly the laborers fall to work. 
The noble patriot declared this act one of the most impor- 
tant of his life, second only to the signing of the Declara- 
tion of Independence. 

Our aged hero now withdrew from public life. He 
lived henceforth in peaceful retirement on one of his 
estates near Baltimore. As he advanced in years he 
became an object of universal veneration. The good and 
the great from at home and abroad made pilgrimages to 
his dwelling that they might see with their own eyes the 
great political patriarch of America. At one time when 
all the Bishops of the United States had assembled for 
the First Council of Baltimore, this venerable body of 
American prelates went to see the grand old man. He 
received them with his usual graceful dignity and child- 
like reverence. 

Four years passed in this happy manner, and we find 
the illustrious Charles Carroll on the verge of death. It 



174 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

is a November day of the year 1832. The last rays of 
the setting sun shed their light into a large room of a 
house in Baltimore where our aged hero is dying. The 
inmates of the household have gathered about him. Near 
him kneel his children and grandchildren and some 
friends. Farther back in the room may be seen a number 
of old negro servants. All are engaged in fervent prayer. 
The last glow of the closing day lights up the face of the 
dying man and spreads a rich halo around his noble brow 
as he passes peacefully away. The great Charles Carroll 
of Carrollton, the "Last of the Signers" and one of the 
noblest among our nation's heroes, is dead. But not so 
the fair memory of his long and useful life of nearly a 
hundred years. 

And what, we may ask, was it that made this man 
so truly great? We may read the answer in the follow- 
ing remarkable words uttered by him shortly before his 
death : "I have lived," said our hero, "to my ninety-sixth 
year ; I have enjoyed continued health ; I have been blessed 
with great wealth, prosperity, and most of the good things 
which the world can bestow; but what I now look back 
on with the greatest satisfaction to myself, is that I have 
practiced the duties of my religion." 

5. OUR CAPITAL CITY 

When we read about Washington leaving Mount Vernon 
and going to New York to live there during the time of 
his presidency, we feel inclined to regret that he could 
not have governed our countrj'- from the banks of the 
Potomac. Since there stood the cradle of our nation, 
would it not seem just that there also should be placed 
the nation's seat of government ? Yes ; and we are happy 
to know that there the American people did finally locate 
their capital. 



ON THE BANKS OF THE POTOMAC 175 

The law-making body of the colonies, known as the 
Continental Congress, had no fixed place of meeting. It 
held its sessions at different places, principally at Phila- 
delphia. But the Constitution, drawn up after the Revo- 
lution, required that a permanent seat of government be 
chosen by the states and accepted by Congress. Now the 
question arose. Where shall this seat of government be 
placed? Naturally, the Southern people wanted to have 
it on the banks of the Potomac, while the Northern people 
insisted that it be placed on the Delaware, 

It happened that Congress w^as just then occupied with 
another exciting question : The separate states were try- 
ing to devise some plan of paying their war debts. Alex- 
ander Hamilton, the learned Secretary of the Treasury at 
the time, proposed that the general government pay these 
debts for the states. A party in Congress, led by Thomas 
Jefferson, strongly opposed Hamilton's idea. Now, Ham- 
ilton not only wished the United States to pay the state 
debts, but he also wanted the capital in the north. Jeffer- 
son, on the contrary, wanted the states to pay their own 
debts, but he wanted the capital in the south. 

Each of these famous leaders had enough friends in 
Congress to prevent the other from putting through his 
measures, but neither had enough supporters of his own 
cause to gain the necessary majority, or more than half 
of the votes. The two men therefore made an agreement 
by which Jefferson promised to help Hamilton make a 
law which would require the general government to pay 
the debts of the states. Hamilton, in turn, agreed that 
he would help Jefferson pass a measure which would place 
the capital on the Potomac. The outcome, of course, was 
that each of these men won his side of the question. This 
meant, among other things, that the capital of the United 
States was to be located on the Potomac. 



176 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

How Washington must have rejoiced over this decision 
of Congress ! Within three days, in the summer of 1790, 
he had selected a tract of land ten miles square, located 
on both the Virginia and Maryland banks of the Potomac. 
The portion extending into Virginia, however, was later 
returned to the state. This reduced the territory to an 
area of nearly seventy square miles and placed it entirely 
on the Maryland bank of the Potomac. During the earli- 
est days of Lord Baltimore's colony, this section of land 
was called Rome and belonged to a man whose name was 
Pope. The southern limit was marked by a small stream 
called Tiber. Therefore the original owner of the terri- 
tory was known as "Pope of Rome on the Tiber." The 
tract of land thus selected for the seat of our general 
government was eventually called the District of Columbia 
in honor of the discoverer of America, while the capital 
city was named Washington as a mark of respect to the 
Father of our Country. 

It took several years to lay out our capital city accord- 
ing to a splendid plan outlined by Washington himself. 
The corner-stone of the White House, or President's resi- 
dence, was laid by Washington in 1792 and that of the 
north wing of the Capitol, or government building, in the 
following year. Work on these structures progressed but 
slowly. In 1800, John Adams, our second President, came 
to live in Washington and the seat of government was 
moved from Philadelphia to its new permanent home on 
the Maryland bank of the Potomac. 

Mrs. Adams, describing her journey from Philadelphia, 
the old capital, to Washington, tells us that she and her 
companions, traveling by way of Baltimore, lost their way 
in the woods and wandered about for hours until they 
met a straggling negro who showed them the right track. 
The unfinished Capitol Mrs. Adams called a palace. If a 



ON THE BANKS OF THE POTOMAC 



177 



palace it could be called, it was certainly one in the wilder- 
ness. The streets were but rough roads cut through the 
woods. Only a few public buildings had been erected and 
there was scarcely a dwelling in sight. 

Poor Mrs. Adams found it a very difficult task to begin 
housekeeping in these rude surroundings. There was 
not a bell in the house to help her direct her numerous 
servants, nor were there any means of lighting and heat- 




THE AVHITE HOUSE TODAY 

ing the spacious dwelling. "I fear," the troubled lady 
wrote to a friend, "that we shall suffer much from the 
cold in this place. There is plenty of wood, it is true, but 
there are no workmen to cut it." 

Notwithstanding, the people of the United States meant 
to make this capital city the permanent home of their 
presidents and government. And they were determined 
to carry out the plan Washington had made for them. 
But work on the city proceeded very slowly and scarcely 
had it fairly begun, when, during the war with England, 
a British fleet sailed up the Potomac and attacked the 
undefended capital. President Madison had been called 



178 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

away the day before. His brave wife, Queen Dolly, as 
she was affectionately called, lingered with a few faithful 
servants until the firing of the cannon told her that the 
enemy were upon the city. 

She then hurriedly brought the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence and other important documents in safety and 
was about to hasten away in her carriage when she sud- 
denly exclaimed, "Not yet ; I cannot leave Stuart's paint- 
ing of Washington behind." This picture was surrounded 
by a heavy frame which was screwed firmly to the wall. 
It would have taken too long to loosen the screws. So 
our heroine had an ax brought, and with it the frame 
was quickly broken. The canvas was removed from the 
stretcher, carefully rolled up, and stored in a safe place. 
Then only could Mrs. Madison be induced to leave the 
city. And not any too soon did she take her flight, for 
the British were close upon her heels. They feasted and 
made merry in the White House; and ruthlessly de- 
stroyed by fire the unfinished Capitol and other public 
buildings, with all the precious treasures they contained. 

The destruction of their capital was indeed a sore loss 
to the American people. But they again went to work 
with strong hearts and willing hands, and from the ashes 
of the unfinished capital rose a new Washington which 
has grown and prospered with the years until today it is 
one of the fairest capital cities on the globe. 

Suppose we take a bird's-eye view of our noble capital. 
Yonder near the river is an aeroplane ready for a flight. 
We seat ourselves in it and up we mount. All about us 
seems so delightfully pleasant and secure that we forget 
to feel afraid and become intensely interested in the scene 
below which we bring close to our eyes by means of spy- 
glasses. There is the beautiful Potomac! Do you see 
that large steamer plowing up-stream? It has made a 



ON THE BANKS OF THE POTOMAC 179 

hundred miles since it entered the mouth of the river, 
and a hundred and eighty-five since it left the ocean. 
How swiftly that passenger train is speeding toward the 
Union Depot! It comes from New York and has made 
two hundred and thirty miles since it left that city. 

But now for a view of the entire District of Columbia. 
It rises from the lowlands at the river's bank by a series 
of hills which in some places reach the height of four 
hundred feet. But what is this District of Columbia? 
Is it still a part of Maryland ? Is it a state ? Or is it a 
territory? No; it is none of these. It may rather be 
considered one large city governed by the President and 
Congress, as our other cities are governed by their respec- 
tive states. But its inhabitants do not vote for the presi- 
dent nor do they have representatives in Congress. 

We must not, however, miss any of the sights below. 
Here we are, right above the Capitol, the finest structure 
in our country. It rests on a hill overlooking the Potomac 
and is surrounded by a splendid park of fifty acres. The 
edifice consists of a central building of white stone and 
of two wings of white marble. The central structure is 
surmounted by a lofty dome of iron on which stands a 
bronze statue of Liberty. We hover close up to it. What 
a huge statue it is ! — over nineteen feet high. If it could 
speak, what wonderful stories it could tell us! 

The other public buildings are also fine structures. And 
in the midst of these palace-like offices of our government 
stands the more modest, yet elegant White House, the 
home of our presidents. It is built of Virginia free stone. 
After the burning of our capital by the British troops in 
1814, only the walls of this building remained standing. 
These were afterwards restored and painted white to 
cover the marks of the fire. Accordingly, the home of 
our presidents has come to be called the White House. 



180 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

Rising a little higher, we place ourselves in a position 
to take in a full view of the capital. We soon note clearly 
the one feature which distinguishes Washington from 
all other cities ; namely, its wide streets which cross each 
other at right angles and are recrossed diagonally by 
still wider avenues bearing the names of various states 




OUR CAPITOL 

of the Union. Many of the streets are beautifully planted 
with trees and are broken by numerous parks and park- 
ing spaces. One of these, The Mall, extends for a mile 
and a half from the Capitol building to the Potomac. 

There is so much more that we should like to see and 
describe, but it must not be today. So we mount high 
up above the dome of the Capitol and after a few minutes' 
flight descend abruptly in front of a large college erected 
on a height close to the waters of the Potomac. We look 
about for someone to tell us where we are. Ah ! behold 
that statue ! How lifelike and familiar it seems ? Can it 
be one of the heroes of our story? Yes; it represents 



ON THE BANKS OF THE POTOMAC 181 

Father John Carroll in his Jesuit habit. He sits lost in 
deep thought as if marveling at the wonderful growth of 
the little college which he founded over a century ago. 
How interesting is the fact that our nation's seat of 
government was erected right next door to Georgetown 
College, the nation's first Catholic seat of learning. 

We have now dwelt for a long time in memory and 
story upon the banks of the famous Potomac. We have 
seen that, on the Virginia bank of the Potomac, stood the 
cradle of our country; and that on the Maryland bank 
is the birthplace of the Catholic Church in this country. 
The Virginia bank gave the nation its fir^t political head 
and the Maryland bank, its first spiritual head. Finally, 
the nation located its seat of government in the Land 
of the Sanctuary. 

How interesting it ail is ! Was it all chance or was it 
Providence that thus made the events on the opposite 
banks of the Potomac correspond in such a striking man- 
ner with the geography of these two states as to illustrate 
a most valuable lesson? Suppose we let Virginia repre- 
sent our government and Maryland the Catholic Church ; 
the river severing one state from the other tells us that 
the government must not meddle with religion. The final 
location of the seat of government on the Maryland bank, 
however, may teach us that a nation cannot be happy and 
enduring without religion. 

Questions for Thought 

1. Compare the founding of Virginia with that of Maryland. 

2. Write in your own words the meaning of the title "Land of 
the Sanctuary." 

3. Compare the Virginia and Maryland colonies in their manner 
of living. 

4. Do you think that plantation life was favorable to the 
growth of towns and schools? Give reasons for your answer. 



182 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

5. Find out all you can about Mount Vernon as it is today. 

6. What qualities do you admire most in Martha Washington? 
In Washington's mother ? 

7. Write in your own words an account of the services ren- 
dered by Washington to his country. 

8. What qualities made Washington so serviceable to his coun- 
try in his time ? Do you think that these qualities would make him 
equally popular in our time ? 

9. Why did the Reverend John Carroll hasten back to his native 
land upon hearing that the colonies were about to take up arms 
against England ? 

10. Enumerate some of the services rendered the Church and 
our country by our first Archbishop. 

11. What must one admire in Archbishop Carroll's private life? 

12. What do you think caused Charles Carroll to be so much 
loved and revered? 

13. Write from an imaginary visit with Charles Carroll all 
he might have told you about the Declaration of Independence. 

14. Find out all you can about each of the three last surviving 
signers of the Declaration of Independence. 

15. Describe the last public service of Charles Carroll to his 
country. Why did the great patriot think this act second in im- 
portance only to the signing of the Declaration of Independence? 

16. What worthy statement did Charles Carroll make shortly 
before his death ? 

17. Tell how our national capital came to be located in the 
southern section of our country on the Potomac River. 

18. Find out all you can about the artist Stuart and how he 
came to paint the Washington portrait which Mrs. Madison saved. 

19. Describe an imaginary visit to our capitol at Washington. 

20. Find out all you can about the White House. 

21. Compare the opposite banks of the Potomac — Virginia and 
Maryland — in interestingly related events of historical importance. 



Selections for Reading 

Paul Revere's Ride — Longfellow 

Independence Bell — W. R. Wallace 

The Death of Jefferson — Hezekiah Butterworth 

The Building of the Ship — Longfellow 

Hail Columbia — Joseph Hopkinson 

Maryland, My Maryland — James Ryder Randall 

The Red, White, and Blue— David T. Shaw 



VI 

OUR NATIONAL BANNER 

1. THE ORIGIN OF OUR FLAG 

When the Norsemen first came to our continent about 
a thousand years ago, they brought with them their flag. 
This was a square yellow banner on which was pictured 
a raven with open beak and wide-spread wings. The flag 
next displayed on American soil was the one planted by 
Columbus on the island of San Salvador in 1492, and 
again in 1498 at the mouth of the Orinoco River in South 
America. 

Two flags floated from the masts of Columbus's ships. 
One of these was the royal banner of Spain (1),* which 
country then comprised the two kingdoms of Castile and 
Leon. Its standard, therefore, showed four alternate red 
and white fields. Two golden castles on the red fields stood 
for Castile, and two red lions on the white fields for Leon. 
The other banner displayed by Columbus was called the 
"Flag of the Expedition" (2). It was pure white and 
swallow-tailed in form, with a green cross in its center, 
green being the emblem of hope, and the cross that of 
Christianity. On either side of the cross were golden 
crowns and below these the letters F and Y, the initials 
of the names of Ferdinand and Isabella, the King and 
Queen of Spain. 

Spain had floated her royal banner over her American 
possessions for more than a hundred years when the Eng- 
lish flag was for the first time permanently planted at 
Jamestown. But, during the seventeenth century, Eng- 
land took possession of the Atlantic seaboard in real ear- 
nest and established colonies all along the coast from 
* Figures refer to frontispiece. 

183 



184 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

Canada to Florida. These settlements, including those 
originally started by the Dutch and Swedes, were thirteen 
in number. They formed the beginning of our present 
United States and are therefore known as the thirteen 
original colonies, or the "Old Thirteen." Though these 
thirteen colonies were founded under different flags — 
English, Dutch, and Swedish — the Dutch and Swedish 
colonies eventually came under English rule and therefore 
the flag of England, or King's Colors (3), as it was called, 
was really the flag of the thirteen colonies. 

In truth, however, the colonies were quite independent 
of each other, and used almost any flag they wished. The 
pine-tree flag (4, 5) was the popular banner of New 
England. There were two forms of this flag. One had 
a red ground, the other a blue. The canton in each was 
white, and was quartered with a red cross, a pine tree 
being displayed in the first quarter. The flag (6) used 
by the Massachusetts troops was white with a green pine 
tree in the center and the words, "An Appeal to Heaven," 
across the top. A standard with thirteen alternate red 
and white stripes was in use throughout the colonies. 
It was known as the continental flag. 

The rattlesnake flag (7), in various forms, was also 
popular, especially in South Carohna. It was adopted in 
a defiant spirit and expressed forcibly the feelings of the 
colonies. At first, the snake was represented as cut into 
parts. The words, "Join or Die," were inscribed beneath 
it. Another flag of this type (8), used by the commander- 
in-chief of the American navy, was a yellow ensign upon 
which was represented a rattlesnake with the warning 
beneath, "Don't Tread on Me." The same motto was 
used on still a third rattlesnake flag (9) which consisted 
either of thirteen alternate red and white, or red and blue 
stripes. On this ensign the snake was stretched obliquely 



OUR NATIONAL BANNER 185 

across the stripes. The snake represented on all these 
flags generally had thirteen rattles. 

Another famous (10) flag used in the South was a blue 
banner devised by Colonel Moultrie. It had a white cres- 
cent in the inner upper corner and on it was inscribed the 
word "Liberty" in large white letters. At one time the 
forces under Washington carried a white flag (11) on 
which was a crossed sword and staff, the latter being 
surmounted by a liberty cap. Above the design was 
the motto, ''Liberty or Death." Another popular white 
flag (12) had blue bands across the top and bottom and 
a pine tree in the center. Above it were inscribed the 
words, "Liberty Tree," and below, "An Appeal to God." 

These are some of the many different flags used by the 
various colonies. They tell us in clear and forcible lan- 
guage just how the colonists felt toward the mother coun- 
try. England became more and more oppressive and her 
colonies finally united and entered upon a war for the pur- 
pose of forcing her to treat them fairly. They had, how- 
ever, no intention as yet of separating from her ; but, since 
they had united, they now needed a common standard. 

Their rightful flag, the King's Colors, should have 
served as such. But, of course, it was quite improper to 
carry the King's Colors in battle against the King's Col- 
ors, though it actually did happen that colonial ships 
bearing the King's Colors were sent out to fight against 
the King's own ships. Nor could they have done other- 
wise; for, had these armed vessels gone to sea without 
a flag, they would have been considered and treated as 
pirates. It was, therefore, clearly necessary that the 
colonies adopt a flag of their own for use in the army 
and navy. So a committee, with Benjamin Franklin at 
the head, was appointed to consult General George Wash- 
ington, then at Cambridge, about the matter. The result 



186 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

was a new flag, which expressed most fittingly the general 
feeling of the American colonies. 

Before describing this new flag, it will be well to ac- 
quaint ourselves with its origin. For this purpose, we 
must go nearly seven centuries back in history. Then a 
flag, known as the Cross of St. George (13), became the 
national standard of England. This standard was a white 
banner with a red vertical cross. St. George was the 
patron of England, and hence the use of St. George's 
cross in the flag. St. Andrew was the patron of Scotland ; 
therefore the Cross of St. Andrew (14) , a blue banner with 
a white oblique cross, was the national flag of Scotland. 
Just four years before the settlement of Jamestown, King 
James VI of Scotland became also James I of England 
and the two crowns were united. Accordingly, the red 
vertical cross of St. George was placed (3) upon the white 
oblique cross in the blue banner of Scotland. 

For a hundred years, this banner was known as the 
King's Colors. It was, however, not the flag of either 
country as yet, but only the personal banner of the king. 
England still had its own flag, St. George's Cross, and 
Scotland its own banner, St. Andrew's Cross. Only in 
1707, when both kingdoms came to have but one parlia- 
ment, did the King's Colors, also known as Union Jack, 
become the flag of Great Britain and all her colonies. 

We may wonder why the Enghsh flag is called Union 
Jack. It probably derived this name from the name 
James, which in French is Jacques. It may also have 
been named thus from the surcoat called jacket, or jack 
for short, on which either cross was originally worn as 
a badge. Thus the cross itself may have come to be 
called a jack, and, when the two crosses were united, a 
union jack (3) . 

You may ask, "What has all this to do with the flag 



OUR NATIONAL BANNER 187 

devised by the rebellious original colonies?" Very much 
indeed. For the King's Colors was their flag as English 
colonies. Nor did they wish to discard it altogether, 
since they still loved their mother country, though they 
were even then engaged in war against her. They very 
appropriately, however, fashioned a flag (15) of thirteen 
alternate red and white stripes, using the King's Colors 
as a canton in its upper and inner quarter. 

The "thirteen rebellious stripes," as they were called, 
stood for the union of the colonies in defense of their 
rights, while the King's Colors in the upper and inner 
corner represented the loyalty of the colonies to the 
mother country despite her oppressive treatment. This 
new banner, or Union Flag, as it was called, was hoisted 
for the first time over Washington's army at Cambridge, 
Massachusetts, on January 1, 1776. As it gracefully un- 
furled its American stripes and British crosses to the 
winds, it was joyously hailed by the soldiers with thirteen 
lusty cheers and a salute of thirteen guns. 

2. THE MEANING OF OUR FLAG 
Part One. A Visit to Its Birthplace 

About ninety-five miles up the Delaware is located 
Philadelphia. It is noted for some of the most important 
events in our country's history. Here the Continental 
Congress met for the first time, here Independence was 
declared, here the Constitution was framed, and here was 
located at different times and for many years, the nation's 
seat of government. But this beautiful city is famous for 
still another great historical event. 

A walk of a few blocks from the Delaware River bank 
along Arch Street will bring us to a small house with a 
store front. It is two stories high and has an attic with a 
dormer window. The house number, seen to the left, is 



188 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



239, though it was once 89. This house is the last of a 
whole row of ancient buildings which originally lined this 




TJiE i'.ii;tiii'lace op on; fl.m; 



end of Arch Street. The brick of which it is built, we are 
told, served as ballast, or weights, in the ship Welcome, 



OUR NATIONAL BANNER 189 

which, in 1682, brought William Penn, the founder of 
Philadelphia, to America. The good Quaker, it is said, 
personally supervised the building of this house. 

The heavy shutters of the two second story windows 
are thrown open and we note that they are joined with 
hand-made nails and hinged with hand-made screws. In 
the show-window are displayed portraits, pictures, and 
flags. On a sign running way across the front of the 
building we read, printed in large letters, the words: 
"BIRTHPLACE OF OLD GLORY" and "OPEN TO 
THE PUBLIC." 

Shall we enter through the rather low door which 
stands ajar as if to welcome us? Yes, for we are curious 
to know what is inside this quaint little structure. We 
cross the threshold. The furnishings of the room and the 
articles exhibited in it assure us that we are in some his- 
torical museum. 

Here is a little back parlor. Its floor of wide oaken 
boards is quite as strong now as when it was first laid. 
How cozy that ancient fireplace ! It reminds us of the 
long ago when the ruddy flames within it lit up the grave 
faces of Quaker councillors and Indian chiefs as they sat 
here smoking the pipe of peace together. 

But of greater interest to us than the serious-faced 
circle of Quakers and redmen, is another noble group who 
met on business in this same little back room nearly one 
and one-half centuries ago. At the time Mrs. Elizabeth 
Ross, a widowed niece by marriage of Colonel George 
Ross, conducted an upholstery shop here. She was much 
famed for her skill with the needle. 

On this particular day of our story, in June, 1777, the 
mistress and her maids were diligently at work with 
scissors and needle in the front part of the house. There 
was a quick, firm rap at the door. It immediately opened 



190 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

and the surprised little circle arose to greet — whom do 
you think? None other than General George Washing- 
ton. How tall and stately he must have appeared in the 
humble little room which he entered, stooping somewhat 
not to strike against the frame of the door ! Washington 
was followed by Colonel Ross and Robert Morris. The 
Colonel gracefully introduced his niece, Betsy Ross, as 
she was known, to his two friends. She showed her noble 
company into the little back room where they were soon 
comfortably seated. 

Betsy Ross was clad in a plain working dress. A white 
kerchief was neatly arranged about her neck and shoul- 
ders, and her hair was caught up in a dainty cap. She 
thus presented an interesting figure indeed as she sat in 
her high-backed chair, wondering what errand had 
brought these distinguished men to her humble home. 

Washington was the first to speak. He explained to 
her in his clear, quiet manner that, since the colonies had 
united and declared themselves a new and independent 
nation, they could now no longer use the Union Flag, but 
needed a standard all their own. Therefore the Con- 
tinental Congress had appointed his two companions and 
himself to design and have made a flag that would fit- 
tingly represent the new nation. He then asked her if she 
could make such a flag. She replied, "I shall try." Here- 
upon Washington drew his chair to the table and laid 
before her his pencil sketch of a square flag. It had thir- 
teen horizontal stripes and a field in the inner upper 
corner on which were shown thirteen six-pointed stars. 

"The stripes," he said, "represent the thirteen states 
and are to be alternate red and white. The field is to be 
blue and the stars, which stand for the union of the col- 
onies, are to be white." "We take," he continued, "the 
stars from heaven ; the red from the cross of our mother 



OUR NATIONAL BANNER 191 

country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that 
we have separated from her ; and the white stripes shall 
go down to posterity representing liberty." 

Good Betsy Ross listened eagerly to every word. "Could 
anyone else," thought she to herself, "have devised a more 
fitting or a more beautiful national banner ?" And when 
Washington asked her how she liked his plan for the flag, 
she answered with enthusiasm: "Your idea is truly 
splendid !" She begged, however, to offer a few sugges- 
tions. "Sir," she said, "a star, to be correct, must have 
five points." 

"Truly," said Washington, "five-pointed stars will look 
better, too ; but won't they be more easily made with six 
points?" 

"Not necessarily so," declared Betsy. And folding a 
piece of cloth, she produced a five-pointed star with one 
quick cut of her scissors. 

Washington and his companions were pleased with her 
skill. "Furthermore," she continued, "a flag should be 
one-third longer than its width ; besides, on your sketch 
the stars are scattered about at random. Would it not 
be better to arrange them in lines or in the form of a 
star or of a circle?" 

Washington was especially pleased with the last sug- 
gestion. "The idea of a circle," said he, "is good, for as a 
circle has no end, so our nation shall be for all time and 
shall never cease." 

Drawing his chair closer to the table, he took his pen- 
cil and paper and made a new design. This design, in 
accordance with Betsy's suggestions, provided for a flag 
oblong in shape, with thirteen alternate red and white 
stripes and with a blue field displaying a circle of thirteen 
white five-pointed stars. 

"This will undoubtedly make a most beautiful emblem," 



192 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

declared Betsy, when Washington had finished his draw- 
ing. "I am very much indebted to you, gentlemen, for 
entrusting me with so honorable a task." 

Delighted with the success of their errand, the com- 
pany rose and bowed their thanks to good Betsy Ross. 

On departing, Washington promised Betsy to have a 
water color copy of his penciled sketch made for her. He 
furthermore advised her to go to the wharf and look at 
some of the flags used on the ships. 

Betsy promptly visited the river bank and succeeded 
in borrowing an old flag for the purpose of seeing how the 
sewing on it was done. But if Betsy Ross was a skilled 
seamstress, did she really need to see how flags were 
sewed? We must remember that sewing machines had 
not yet been invented and the work on flags, which were 
exposed to wind and battle, had to be very well done. Be- 
fore leaving the wharf, Betsy was also handed the 
painted pattern of the flag she was to make. 

The industrious little woman quickly set to work. With 
the help of the young women in her shop, the red cotton 
cloth was cut into seven long strips and the white into 
six. The strips of red and white were neatly sewed to- 
gether with strong thread and double stitches. The 
pretty blue field was next carefully measured and the 
thirteen white stars arranged in a circle upon it. Then it 
was firmly fastened in its proper place and — our first na- 
tional flag (16) was completed. 

"From dusk till dawn the livelong night 
They kept the tallow dips alight, 
And fast their nimble fingers flew 
To sew the stars upon the blue. 
With weary eyes and aching head 
They stitched the stripes of white and red, 
And when the day came up the stair, 
Complete across a carven chair 
Hung Betsy's starry flag." 



OUR NAT I ON AT. BANNER 



193 



Would you not like to have been one of that fair group 
of seamstresses who were the first to gaze upon our 
beautiful Star Spangled Banner as their mistress spread 
it out proudly before them ? 

Betsy Ross promptly sent her specimen flag to the 
committee. They were delighted with it, and, wishing to 
see how it looked when unfurled, ran it up the highest 




BETSY ROSS AND HER MAIDS HAVE COMPLETED OUR FIRST NATIONAL FLAG 

mast of one of the ships lying in th6 wharf. The new 
standard was greeted with shouts of applause by a num- 
ber of by-standers. So satisfied and pleased were the 
committee with the new banner that they carried it be- 
fore Congress that same day. Congress immediately 
adopted it as the national flag of the United States on 
June 14, 1777. June 14, therefore, is the birthday of our 
flag and is now celebrated throughout the United States 
as Flag Day. 

Colonel Ross himself brought Betsy the good news that 
Congress had approved of her flag. He also gave orders 
to purchase all the necessary material and make as many 



194 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

flags as she possibly could. From that time forward, 
for over fifty years, Betsy Ross made flags for the United 
States government. She was assisted and succeeded in 
this work by her children and grandchildren, all of whom 
have told and retold the story of our flag as it is given 
here. Her home, the birthplace of our flag, is still known 
as the Betsy Ross House, and is kept in repair by an asso- 
ciation formed for the purpose. 

Part Two. The Mission of Our Star Spangled Banner 

According to a decision of Congress, the new flag was 
to go into use throughout the country beginning with Sep- 
tember 3, 1777. Hence Betsy Ross and her maids were 
very busy getting ready a supply of flags for distribution. 
While they were thus employed, our new national stand- 
ard was hoisted for the first time in actual service some 
weeks before the day set by Congress. And, strange to 
say, the flag displayed was not one made by Betsy Ross. 
It was, nevertheless, a genuine Star Spangled Banner. 

How contradictory it all sounds! Yet it is true, and 
came about in this simple manner: Where now stands 
the city of Rome in New York, was located during the 
early part of the Revolution, Fort Stanwix. It was occu- 
pied by United States soldiers. On August 6, 1777, there 
was fought not far from it, at Oriskany, one of the blood- 
iest battles of the Revolution. The engagement ended in 
a victory for the Americans, who, during the combat, had 
captured five English flags. These they hoisted upside 
down above Fort Stanwix and unfurled over them all the 
first Star Spangled Banner ever raised. 

But where did they get this banner ? Betsy Ross's sup- 
ply of flags was not sent out until September third, and 
therefore Fort Stanwix had not yet been provided with a 
flag. Its officers and soldiers, however, knew how to 



OUR NATIONAL BANNER 195 

help themselves. They had heard our new flag described 
and knew just how it looked. So this is what they did: 
They cut up some soldiers' shirts to form the white 
stripes and stars. A flannel petticoat supplied the red 
stripes, and the blue field was made of a captain's cloak. 
Although put together with such queer material, this 
improvised flag consisted, like Betsy Ross's, of thirteen 
alternate red and white stripes and of a blue field with a 
wreath of thirteen white stars in the inner upper corner. 

The Stars and Stripes was first displayed at sea in 
1777 by John Paul Jones on his brig. The Ranger. Cap- 
tain Gray in his ship Columbia was the first to carry the 
flag around the world. He left Boston in 1787 and 
returned in 1790. As he entered Boston harbor, proudly 
flying the Stars and Stripes over a cargo of tea secured 
in China, the cannon boomed and crowds of people flocked 
to the shore to cheer the flag and honor the Columbia's 
brave captain. 

The flag with thirteen stripes and thirteen stars was 
used for eighteen years. By that time two new states, 
Vermont and Kentucky, had joined the Union. Accord- 
ingly, two stripes and two stars were added to the flag 
in 1795. It was this flag, (17) with fifteen stripes and fif- 
teen stars, that waved over our unfinished Capitol when 
the British set it on fire. Proud of the night's achieve- 
ment, they determined to repeat their work of destruction 
at Baltimore. But the people of Baltimore were prepared 
for the attack. 

The British at first thought the city an easy prey. 
But for twenty-four hours they rained shot and shell 
without any noticeable effect upon Fort McHenry, which 
guarded the entrance to the harbor. So they ceased the 
cannonading a little after midnight, and, with the first 
streaks of dawn, lifted their anchors and departed from 



196 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

the city. When they had left, a little American boat 
carrying two men made its way to the city. It had 
been moored close to the British admiral's flagship 
during the night. 

How did these Americans happen to be with the enemy 
during the bombardment of Fort McHenry? One of 
them, Francis Scott Key, had gone before the attack 
began to ask the British commander for the release of 
a prisoner who was his friend. His wish was granted, 
but the two friends were obliged to remain until the 
attack on the city would be ended. They spent their 
time eagerly watching the flag which floated above Fort 
McHenry during the bombardment. Now and then they 
caught a glimpse of it when during the dark hours of 
the night it was lit up by the blazing of the cannon. 
But after the firing stopped, the darkness of the night 
hid it from their view and they became much troubled. 
"Has the fort surrendered?" they asked. "Oh, if morn- 
ing would only come to tell us whether our flag is still 
there !" 

At length, when morning dawned, they saw indis- 
tinctly the outline of some flag flying over the fort. 
Still they could not tell which flag it was, no matter 
how much they strained their eyes. But as the day 
grew lighter the flag suddenly unfurled gracefully to 
the morning breezes. Ah! Now they saw that it was 
not the English flag, but their own starry banner. Fort 
McHenry still stood and Baltimore was safe. Overjoyed 
by the fact, Francis Key took from his pocket an old 
letter and on the back of it told the inspiring story in a 
most beautiful poem entitled "The Star Spangled Banner." 

On reaching the city, Francis Key gave a copy of the 
poem to a relative who had helped defend the fort during 
the night. This relative sent it to a printing office. The 



OUR NATIONAL BANNER 



197 



printer snatched the first sheet from the press and 
hastened to a tavern which he knew was crowded with 
patriots. Waving aloft the paper as he entered, he called 
for attention and then read the poem aloud. 

The reading was cheered with loud applause and the 
cry, "Sing it! Sing it!" And then and there was sung 
for the first time the Star 
Spangled Banner to a tune 
borrowed from a piece of 
music for the flute, entitled 
"Anacreon in Heaven." The 
song was at once caught up 
and sung throughout the 
country. It is now played 
by the bands on our war 
vessels and at the even- 
ing parades of our mili- 
tary posts. Foreign nations 
recognize it as our national 
song, and as such it will 
probably stand until we shall 
have another suitable origi- 
nal poem set to some stirring melody composed by an 
American musician. 

Properly speaking, we have not, as yet, any national 
hymn. The Star Spangled Banner describes only a single 
incident, whereas, our national anthem, when it is writ- 
ten, must express the whole of our nation's aspirations — 
its trust in God; its devout confidence in a just cause; 
its devotion to right ; and, finally, its firm purpose rather 
to die than to submit to injuries or wrong. It may not 
be boastful nor speak of vengeance. It must breathe the 
spirit of a Washington and of a Lincoln rather than that 
of a Caesar or a Napoleon. 




FRANCIS SCOTT KEY 



198 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

However, the flag that gave birth to the inspiring 
song which comes so near to being a really national 
hymn, still exists as a proof that our flag once had fifteen 
stars and fifteen stripes. For the scorched and tattered 
banner (17) that waved so nobly over Fort McHenry and 
unfolded so gracefully to the eager eyes of Francis Key 
"by the dawn's early light" is still preserved in our 
National Museum at Washington. 

The flag with the fifteen stripes and fifteen stars 
remained our national standard for twenty-three years. 
Meanwhile the Union had grown to number twenty states. 
This necessitated another change in the flag. Hence 
Congress declared that we return to the original thirteen 
stripes, but that henceforth a star be added in the blue 
field on the admission of every new state. Accordingly, 
the blue field in our present flag (18) displays forty-eight 
stars, one for each of the states in our Union. 

When in 1861 a number of the southern states with- 
drew from the Union, they chose a flag (19) of their own, 
called the "Stars and Bars." This flag had a white stripe 
between two red ones, and a blue field with seven stars 
arranged in a circle. But after the Civil War the whole 
nation became once more united under the Stars and 
Stripes. 

"Furl that banner, for 'tis weary; 
Round its staff 'tis drooping dreary; 
Furl it, fold it — it is best; 
Furl it, hide it— let it rest!" 

Such, then, is the origin and such the history of our 
national banner. And if you were now asked, "What is 
a flag?" would you feel satisfied to answer, "It is merely 
a piece of colored silk or cotton cloth" ? 

Ah, no! You would certainly say, "It is a great deal 
more!" And so it is. Its highest beauty is its meaning. 



OUR NATIONAL BANNER 199 

and it represents a meaning that is, in a degree, sacred. 
For when we see a nation's flag we see not the flag only, 
but the nation itself. We read in this flag that nation's 
God-given power to govern, that nation's principles and 
its history. Our starry banner had its origin in the 
union of the colonies and their efforts to secure freedom 
from oppression, even at the cost of a desperate struggle. 
And as it stood for union and freedom then, it still stands 
for a united people, for liberty, for noble aspirations, for 
peace, and for the protection of all who love liberty. 

Its very colors have a language clear and beautiful. 
White is for purity, red for courage, blue for loyalty, and 
all together — stripes, stars, and colors — rippling in the 
breeze against the vaulted dome of heaven, form our 
beautiful red, white, and blue banner, the emblem of our 
nation and the pride and joy of our hearts. 

Questions for Thought 

1. Trace the flags used on the Atlantic coast of America pre- 
vious to the Declaration of Independence. 

2. Why would it not do for the colonies to use the King's Colors 
in battle against the King's Colors? 

3. What does the flag of a nation mean to its citizens ? 

4. Find out all you can about the affection and loyalty soldiers 
have shown to their flag. 

5. Tell in what 'positions the flag should be displayed on the 
various holidays and other special occasions. 

6. Draw in colors, or sew, or paste together a flag in the form 
it is today. 

7. Why can "The Star Spangled Banner" not be considered 
suitable to be our national hymn ? 

Selections for Reading 

The Star Spangled Banner — Francis Scott Key 

The Flag — Arthur Macy 

The American Flag — Joseph Rodman Drake 

Betsy's Battle Flag — Minna Irving 

Barbara Frietchie — John Greenleaf Whittier 

Our Conquered Banner — A. J. Ryan 

The Man Without a Country— Edward E. Hale 



VII 

WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 

1. COLONIAL MEANS OF TRAVEL 

Part One. By Stage from New York to Philadelphia 

Suppose we take an imaginary colonial trip by land 
from New York to Charleston, South Carolina, about the 
year 1790. Not earlier than this, because we do not care 
to test the rude stages or traveling wagons which were 
used at an earlier date and which, we are told, were not 

even set on springs. 
These first stages re- 



quired three whole days 




to go from New York 
to Philadelphia, a jour- 
STACE COACH ^^^ which can now be 

made in two hours. 
Here we are at our starting place. New York City. 
Across the street is a tavern. Near it is our coach which 
goes by the singular title of "flying m.achine" because it 
can make the trip of ninety miles in two days. We smile 
as we look at this queerly named carriage. It is merely 
a large clumsy wagon surmounted by a huge top-covered 
box which rests on lame springs. The driver is impatient 
to start and we hastily climb to our seats and off we go. 
It is early morning in midsummer, only three o'clock. 
We still feel drowsy and begin to fear that we may fall 
asleep and tumble suddenly from our seats. We are, how- 
ever, startled into wakefulness upon reaching the Hud- 
son River. Its waters are unusually rough today and the 

200 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 201 

wind is high. Still we venture the dangerous passage 
on a leaky ferry and finally reach the New Jersey shore. 
The roads become more and more rugged as we advance, 
and we jolt roughly along over furrows, rocks, and stumps. 
We are obliged to hold to our seats, and to cling to each 
other. Now our wagon tips dangerously to one side. 
Lo! — it loses its balance and — over we go. — 

Thankful to have escaped with nothing worse than a 
bad scare and a few bruises, we scramble to our feet and 
quickly help to turn our coach back on its wheels. We 
then follow the wagon on foot for a change. On getting 
tired, we again mount to our places and rumble clumsily 
along. Now our road is becoming more and more muddy. 
There must have been a recent heavy rainfall in this sec- 
tion of the country. Our wagon cuts deeper and deeper 
into the mud and mire. The jaded and worn-out horses 
can scarcely pull us along. Each time the poor creatures 
draw their feet out of the sticky clay, there is a sound 
something like the report of a pistol. At length we come 
to a complete standstill — our horses can go no farther — 
we are hopelessly stuck in the mud. We have no other 
choice but to get out. Making our way ankle-deep through 
the pitchy mire, we secure a few rails from a fence near by 
and with them finally pry our coach out of the mud. 

Once safe out of the mud-hole, we again move on. With 
a sigh of relief we soon find ourselves jolting along on a 
corduroy road, a track formed of logs laid side by side. 
Shall we now enjoy a little more comfort? Alas, no, see 
those deep, inky-looking holes ! Oh, how we do hump and 
bump along. — Smack ! dash ! crash ! down we go into a 
hole half a yard deep. — Out and away we jolt once more, 
and before long we come to a river which has flooded its 
banks. The bridge creaks and cracks and sways beneath 
our weight. Will it sink and drop us into the deep flood 



202 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

below ? We hold our breath for very fear — at length we 
reach the other side — we are safe ! 

Wading knee-deep through water and mud and swamp, 
our faithful horses again drag us steadily onward. Now 
we meet a great, clumsy cart drawn by oxen. Look at the 
immensely high and solid wheels ! They are merely thin 
slices cut from the butt of a huge log. The hubs of these 
wheels are three feet from the ground. Its inmates do 
not need to fear crossing an ordinary brook or river, for 
the water will scarcely reach the box of the cart. Again 
we come upon a stream, but, alas, we find no bridge. What 
shall we do ? We risk a perilous crossing upon a rude raft 
and again the opposite shore is reached in safety. 

On, on we press. Only at the end of the first long day 
of eighteen hours do we stop at a wayside tavern for a 
frugal supper, a night's rest on a hard bed, and a fresh 
pair of horses for the next day's ride. We rest well, 
and morning comes all too soon. Though it is only three 
o'clock, a sharp blast from the driver's horn summons us 
to renew our tiresome journey. And go we must, no mat- 
ter how much our bones may be aching; no matter how 
much the rain may pour or the wind may blow. At length, 
after two days of this sort of traveling, we roll into 
Philadelphia, a very cramped and tired company indeed. 

Part Two. On to Charleston 

But we must not tarry too long in the interesting 
city of Philadelphia, for the greatest and most difficult 
part of our journey is still before us. No stage runs 
southward from the city; hence, we must proceed by 
some other means of travel. But since Pennsylvania has 
better roads than any other colony, and these all radiate 
from Philadelphia like spokes of a wheel from the hub, 
we can easily continue our way by chaise to the end of 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 



203 



one of these highways. Speeding quite smoothly along, 
we meet, now a file of packhorses, now a train of white- 
covered wagons. These white-covered conveyances are 
named Conestoga wagons after a creek which flows into 
the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania. Both, the pack- 
horses and the wagons, are heavily laden with farm prod- 
ucts and are making their way to Philadelphia. Now 
we quite catch up to a long train of wagons carrying 




A PACKHORSE 



all sorts of products purchased in Philadelphia. But 
there must be some trouble. Ah! they have come to a 
very muddy stretch of the road. Their horses are fairly 
floundering in the mire. The drivers with their trousers 
rolled up have joined team to team to help each other 
pull out of the deep mud. By a roundabout way we 
evade the muddy part of the road. What does that 
stake and sign straight ahead mean? "Danger! quick- 
sand pits!" is what we read as we draw nearer. Joined 
by all the teamsters, we now pull down a fence and make 
a new road through the fields. Before long the train of 
wagons is again moving on. But where are they going? 



204 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

To the end of the road, where there will be hundreds of 
packhorses to carry the goods from the city to the scat- 
tered homes and villages of the surrounding country. 

We pass the slow train of wagons and soon leave it far 
behind. The scenes about us are now becoming more 
lonely and our rugged road finally terminates altogether 
at the door of a little tavern. There are no horses to be 
had, and we are obliged to continue our way on foot along 
a plainly marked Indian trail through a dense forest. 




A c'0.\icsto<;a wagon 

By and by our path becomes more indistinct and ere 
long we completely lose track of it. Nor can we find it 
again though we search and wander about for an hour or 
more. Night is fast coming on — the forest is very heavy 
overhead. The boughs are so closely matted together by 
twining vines as to shut out every ray of moonlight and 
every cooling breeze. The darkness is becoming frightful 
and we are almost suffocating from heat and want of air. 
But we must nevertheless spend the night in this dreadful 
place. There is no other choice. So we sit closely to- 
gether upon the ground and try to be brave, though we 
scarcely venture to speak above a whisper. The low growl 
of a bear near by brings us to our feet. Dread silence pre- 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 



205 



vails for a while. We are again quite at ease when the 
howl of a wolf and then the cry of a panther resound 
through the stillness of the night. But more than these 
savage beasts we fear the highway robbers. The gold 
and silver coins quilted into the waistcoats of colonial 
travelers have more than once proved a rich prize to the 
covetous highwayman and have brought poverty and even 
death to the lonely wanderer. 

But nothing happens to us. Morning dawns and we 
begin to move hopefully about in search of our lost trail ! 
How fortunate that the 
postman on horseback hap- 
pens to come along just 
now ! For we must remem- 
ber that he only travels this 
way when he has received 
enough mail to pay the ex- 
pense of his trip. And this 
expense, based upon the 
amount of mail carried, is 
often sufficiently great to 
place a postage of twenty- 
five cents on a single letter. 
Besides, the receiver of the 
letter is usually expected 
to pay the expense of the 
sending. Need we wonder then that people write to each 
other only rarely and that the postman needs to visit the 
remote settlements scarcely once a month ? 

But undoubtedly the postman is as welcome in these 
lonely out-of-the-way places as his visits are rare. He 
always announces his arrival in a post-town by blowing 
loudly on a little horn. How eagerly the people flock to 
meet him ! Still, no one can be more happy over the post- 




POSTKIDEll ON A CORDUROY ROAD 



206 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

rider's coming than we have been just now. — Here at last 
is our lost bridle path. The deep tracks left by the hoofs 
of the good man's horse now mark it very clearly. We are 
glad to find also as we walk briskly along that the trees 
have been blazed and stand out as safe guideposts. 

Proceeding for some time along the banks of a narrow 
but deep and rapid river our path suddenly leads upon a 
large tree lying directly across the stream. We walk upon 
it to the other side, wondering meanwhile how the post- 
man got across. As if in answer to our question a loud 
splash in the water behind us attracts our attention, A 
mounted hunter has plunged into the stream. His faithful 
horse, shoulder-deep in water, is making bravely toward 
the bank on which we are standing. For a while, horse 
and rider seem in great peril of being swallowed up and 
carried away by the current. However, they finally suc- 
ceed in reaching the bank. If the postrider had as hard 
a time of it as this horseman, he was most certainly obliged 
^^^ to spread out his mail in thei 

d^^ ''^Sp:||^% sun to dry. 
^^^m^,,^Py^y>^*\^J^^'.^ Once more we pursue our 
^^S^^^^^^^^^^^ lonely path. On, on we jour- 

\^^^^^' f^^^^^^' ^^^ ^^^ many days and weeks, 

_^^P^^^~.. ^^"— -:^^;__^,__ one time on foot, then again 

"*'""" '"~'~ on horseback, and sometimes 

AN OLD-TIME CHAISE .^ ^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^ g^^ ^^ 

length we come into a vast level country. We catch 
glimpses of great stately houses hidden among the trees. 
Whole throngs of negroes are plodding to work along our 
road. We make our way past fields of cotton and swamps 
of rice and finally reach Charleston, our destination. 

It is needless to say that the people of colonial times 
made journeys hke this but rarely, yet those who did ven- 
ture to travel were always certain of a generous hospital- 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 207 

ity. To the rich planters of the South any such chance 
guests were most welcome, for they always brought nov- 
elty and news of the world outside. With the household 
gathered around him before the blazing hearth, the newly 
arrived stranger would tell of the happenings in New 
York, Boston, Baltimore, or even England. Need we 
wonder then that such an interesting personage was 
treated to the best in food, drink, and comfort? 

"For planters' tables, you must know 
Are free for all that come and go." 

But for these early means of travel, rude as they were, 
the colonial towns and settlements would have had little in 
common and could scarcely have prospered at all. The 
numerous waterways, the poor roads and winding bridle 
paths along which the early settlers traveled and traf- 
ficked, were therefore the very root and foundation of our 
country's early progress and development. 

2. THROUGH CUMBERLAND GAP TO KENTUCKY 

Part One. The Pioneers Push Up the Slopes of the 
Alleghanies 

The people of the thirteen original colonies kept spread- 
ing farther and farther over the unoccupied land. Industry 
and trade flourished more and more. While the whole 
Atlantic seaboard was thus beginning to teem with life 
and activity, the land west of the Alleghanies was still a 
desolate wilderness. A class of sturdy pioneers known as 
backwoodsmen had, however, pushed their way up the 
slopes and into the rugged highland valleys of the Alle- 
ghanies, quite close to the unexplored wilds beyond. 

They lived in their rude log cabins and raised crops of 
corn and garden products in the stump-dotted clearings. 



208 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

These simple, unlearned people liked the lonely life of 
the wilderness with its wild and bold freedom. The shady, 
quiet woodlands with their numerous living creatures were 
far more interesting to them than were the politics, the 
comforts, or the interesting social gatherings of the sea- 
board towns and cities. Dangers and difficulties made 
these people only more hardy, brave, and fearless. Fa- 
miliar with the rifle, they feared neither the wild beasts 
of the forests and mountains nor the prowling bands of 
hostile Indians. 

They were wonderfully fond of hunting, which in those 
times was not only a sport, but rather a serious occupa- 
tion. The furs and skins of the animals served the 
backwoodsmen as money in similar manner as tobacco 
did the Virginians and other southern colonists. With 
his peltries the backwoodsman bought his homespun 
clothing, his household utensils, his field and garden tools, 
and his articles for the chase. The wild meat formed the 
principal article of food for the family table. 

Westward from the clearings of the backwoodsmen con- 
tinued a dense, unbroken forest. It extended all through 
the mountains and down their western slope to where the 
Kentucky and Cumberland Rivers have their sources. 
Beyond this lay a land of wondrous beauty, a land of 
wooded hills and flowering glades, of grassy prairies and 
lofty woodland groves, of flowing rivers and brakes of 
leafy cane. Here roamed the shaggy buffalo in countless 
thousands. Here the elk and the deer abounded. Bears, 
too, as well as the wolf and panther, were numerous, while 
the canebrakes fairly teemed with feathered game. 

Well did it merit the name of "hunter's paradise" as 
given it by one of its first explorers. The Indians, how- 
ever, called it "Kentucky," which means ''among the 
meadows" in their language. Kentucky was the common 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 



209 



hunting ground of the northern and the southern Indian 
tribes, but neither dared dwell therein. It was truly a 
"no-man's land," crowded with game, but with not a wig- 
wam, not a hut in its entire extent. The various tribes 
of Indians who came to hunt there frequently quarreled 
and made war upon each other. Consequently, Kentucky 
is also spoken of as the "dark and bloody ground." 




A PAKT OF THE CUMBERLAND GAP TODAY 



No road, not even a trail, led from the seaboard across 
the mountains into this wonderful houseless region in 
which thus far only the Indians and the wild beasts had 
roamed and reigned undisturbed. Was there not at least 
some waterway or canyon through which the white man 
might enter into this fair land ? Yes, there was. Where 
the boundary line between Kentucky and Tennessee 
touches on the western extremity of Virginia is a deep, 
narrow passage through the Cumberland Mountains. 

By and by, hunters and Indian traders pushed farther 



210 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

into the wilderness. In 1748 a party of Virginians came 
upon the pass through which Indian war parties had 
tramped a trail known as the "warriors' path." They gave 
to the gap, as also to the mountains and the beautiful 
mountain stream rising near by, the name Cumberland, 
in honor of the English Duke of Cumberland. 

Other hunters soon passed through Cumberland Gap 
and far beyond it into the fairyland of Kentucky. They 
returned with wonderful tales of all they had seen. Though 
most of the backwoodsmen paid little attention to these 
accounts, some of them began to look longingly to the 
wild land of game and forest and rushing waters. 

Foremost among the latter was Daniel Boone, the hero 
of Kentucky. He was one of a family of eleven children 
and was born in the mountains of Pennsylvania, not far 
from Philadelphia, about the year 1734. He might there- 
fore have been a playmate of the illustrious Washington, 
Bishop Carroll, and Charles Carroll, had the families been 
near neighbors. 

Schools were few in those early days, especially in the 
backwoods. Daniel Boone learned to read, write, and 
cipher a little from the wife of his eldest brother. But 
the mild, quiet, serious-faced boy greatly loved the wild 
woods, and there learned a great deal more than books 
could tell him about the valleys and the hills, the storms 
and the floods, the trees and the flowers, the wild animals 
and the crafty redmen. Like his father, he took much 
pleasure in hunting and trapping, even while still a child. 

We are told that on one occasion, during his boyhood, 
while roaming in the woods with some other boys, they 
came quite suddenly upon a vicious, growling panther. 
Daniel alone stood his ground, and, promptly raising his 
rifle to his shoulder, took a sure aim and killed the crouch- 
ing animal. He was then not more than twelve years old. 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 211 

The young hunter early made friends with the Indians. 
He visited, ate, hunted, and traveled with them, and thus 
learned all about their wild habits. He was quite as apt 
as were his wily red friends in tracking the deer, in steal- 
ing behind rocks with a soft tread to waylay his prey, in 
catching a glimpse of game in the treetops, or listening 
to the soft footfall of an approaching animal. 

Part Two. Daniel Boone Decides to Cross the Alleghanies 

The growing population of Pennsylvania had crowded 
westward, and before long the steady blows of the 
woodsman's ax rivaled the sharp reports of the hunter's 
gun. Log cabins, surrounded by gardens and corn- 
fields, multiplied on the clearings. The Boone family, 
finding its hunting grounds thus disturbed, decided to 
move where there were broader and freer lands. The 
family belongings were therefore packed in large canvas- 
covered wagons. In with this storage sat Mrs. Boone 
and the children. The men and boys rode on horseback, 
some at the head, and some in the rear driving the cattle. 
In this interesting manner our travelers made their way 
across the Potomac at Harper's Ferry, proceeded up the 
beautiful valley of the Shenandoah, and finally settled on 
the Yadkin River in North Carolina. 

In this promised land on the Yadkin we at length find 
Daniel Boone living in a snug little home of his own. It 
was a balmy evening in the autumn of 1768. The sun 
had just disappeared behind the western mountains and 
left the eastern foothills bathed in a bluish light. Every 
now and then the whip-poor-will would repeat his mourn- 
ful cry, while the nighthawks and owls flitted and soared 
about in search of their evening meal. Except for these 
restless creatures, the scene was one of perfect peace 
and quiet beauty. 



212 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



Boone was sitting on a wooden bench before his rude 
httle log cabin. He was now a man in his middle thirties, 
not unusually tall, but finely built. One could not help 
but note the well-formed head, the high brow, the clear 
blue eyes, and the firmly set mouth. His broad, full chest 
^^^^ showed that he could 

run long and fast 
without becoming 
short of breath or get- 
ting tired. Out-of-door 
life and exercise had 
lent a graceful free- 
dom to his whole bear- 
ing. His step was light 
and springy and car- 
ried him along so 
swiftly that not even 
an Indian could keep 
pace with him. Every- 
body who came in con- 
tact with the quiet young man respected and admired him 
for his kind disposition, manly courage, rare prudence, 
and great skill and strength. 

On this particular evening of our story, Mrs. Boone is 
finishing up the day's work within the cabin. Let us take 
a peep into the one-room little dwelling. The fireplace is 
large enough for great logs five or six feet in length. 
It contains a crane, or iron hook, from which hangs a 
kettle. In this kettle is cooked the simple food for the 
family table, such as corn-mush, vegetables, and meat. 
That wide iron kettle with legs can be placed on the red- 
hot coals and thus serve as an oven for baking bread. 
Sometimes this kettle is also used as a sort of frying 
pan to prepare savory steak for the table. A pair of 




DANIEL BOONE 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 213 

deer's horns over the fireplace are holding a hunting gun 
and a powder horn. 

There on a shelf are the dishes used at the family 
meals — some pewter plates, forks, and spoons ; also a 
number of wooden bowls and some squash shells for drink- 
ing cups. On one of the walls are great wooden pegs. 
From these are hanging, side by side, flitches of smoked 
wild meat and articles of clothing. The ladder in the 
corner leads to the attic under the rafters. 

After having swept her white-scrubbed floor and ar- 
ranged her shining bright milk tins upon the rack, Mrs. 
Boone calls in her httle ones, who have been playing 
and romping about on the clearing. They are soon 
tucked lovingly into their little trundle bed. Then the 
happy mother joins her husband for a pleasant evening 
talk. 

"Why so thoughtful and gloomy, Daniel?" says the 
cheery little woman as she seated herself beside him. 

"I am thinking over the latest events, Rebecca. The 
trouble between England and the colonies is daily becom- 
ing more and more serious. The people are much oppressed 
by taxes, and are ready for open rebellion. There are, 
however, some, called Tories, who hold to the king, and 
they are anything but friendly. Then, too, the rich plant- 
ers, with their fine houses, slaves, and luxuries of all kinds, 
seem to think that because they are wealthy they have 
greater rights than their poor neighbors who wear deer- 
skin clothing and dwell in log cabins. 

''Aijd," he continued, "a great number of settlers have 
moved in of late. They have reared their huts and made 
their clearings in yonder forest. The deer, the bears, the 
wolves, and the feathered game have fled to seek a freer 
life in the distant uninhabited forests far to the west. 
Owing to scarcity of game, I hunted farther into the 



214 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

mountains this last time than I ever did on any other 
hunting trip. I even ventured as far as the Cumberland 
Mountains, and from a spur of these highlands looked 
down into a most beautiful country and there saw a 
wonderful sight indeed. A large herd of hundreds of 
buffalo were grazing undisturbed in the valley below. I 
was overjoyed on beholding a scene so grand. A great 
longing seized me to live and roam and hunt in the wilder- 
ness beyond. Why not, my dear Rebecca, move to this 
western land ?" 

At this moment the two became aware that a rather 
interesting visitor, a peddler with horse and wagon, had 
appeared on the scene. The newcomer alighted from his 
cart. He was clad in deerskin from head to toe, and car- 
ried a rifle. The man certainly looked more like a back- 
woods hunter than one who made a practice of offering 
small wares to the settlers' wives. Boone sprang to his 
feet. "Why, John Finley!" he cried joyfully. "You here? 
You could scarcely have chosen a better time. Come and 
sit down ; I have much to tell and much to ask you." 

The little group were soon engaged in an interesting 
conversation. Finley had twice been across the moun- 
tains. And he gave his fellow-hunter such a thrilling 
description of the wonderland of Kentucky, which he 
called a "second paradise," that Boone quite forgot his 
troubles. Until late into the night the two men talked. 

"And are you going back?" asked Boone as they rose 
to part for the night. 

"That I am," returned Finley. "Several other hunters 
will go too. And you, neighbor, you might come along." 

And did Boone go along? Yes. After the winter had 
passed, he entrusted his family and new-sown crops to his 
brother. Squire Boone, and set out in quest of the country 
of Kentucky in company with Finley and four other men. 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 215 

Part Three. Boone Visits Kentucky and Blazes the 
Wilderness Road 

Can you picture Boone and his companions as they 
passed through their home settlement toward the moun- 
tains beyond ? They were clothed in comfortable deerskin 
hunting suits. As head-covering each wore a soft cap of 
coonskin with the bushy tail dangling in the back. Stout 
moccasins were laced about their feet. With their trusty 
rifles resting lightly upon their shoulders and their hunt- 
ing knives and powder horns hanging from their belts, 
they passed briskly on, greeting their neighbors to the 
right and the left as they went. 

On, on they went, chmbing and tramping and sliding 
their way over the blue western wall into the valley 
beyond, and thence on through Cumberland Gap into — 
the "hunter's paradise." 

They had been one whole month on the way, but the 
beauty and bounty of the pleasant valleys and rolling 
forest lands of Kentucky amply rewarded them for the 
hardships of their long and tiresome tramp. The salt 
spring regions fairly swarmed with beasts of many 
kinds — water-fowl, turkey, deer, elk, and buffalo. The 
huge, clumsy buffalo had trodden down the young trees 
and bushes about many of the springs. In some instances 
the ground thus left bare was covered with a rich growth 
of red clover. For months Boone and his companions 
enjoyed such hunting as had perhaps never fallen to the 
lot of any other American hunter. But they were soon 
to learn that the Indians meant Kentucky to be "no-man's 
land" and that, whoever should enter it, would be regarded 
as a foe. Boone and one of his companions, named Stewart, 
were one day captured by the redmen. Both soon escaped 
and returned to camp, only to find the rest of the party 



216 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



gone and the hut in ashes. Nothing whatever could be 
learned concerning the fate of the four missing men. 

Meanwhile Boone's family and other relatives had be- 
come quite alarmed over his long absence, and Squire 
Boone was sent out in search of his brother. Thus it 
happened that Daniel and Squire Boone one day met un- 
expectedly in the woods. The meeting was a most joyful 




A HERD OF BUFFALO 



one. But the gladness of the brothers was changed to 
sorrow when, soon after, Stewart was shot and scalped 
by the Indians. 

The two Boones passed the winter together without 
any further Indian attacks. But they did not venture 
to do much hunting, and when springtime came they 
had not gathered enough peltries to make a tive-hundred- 
mile trip to the nearest market worth while. But they 
sorely needed ammunition, so Squire returned to North 
Carolina for supplies. 

Few men could have endured being thus left alone as 
Daniel was without even a dog or a horse for a companion. 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 217 

But the sturdy backwoodsman spent no time in bemoan- 
ing his lonely lot. He explored the wilderness, following 
the buffalo trails to the salt licks, and the rivers to their 
sources and mouths. He studied the country and its 
vegetation, and marked good locations for settlements. 
During all these roamings he was in constant danger of 
Indian attacks, and therefore always slept under the open 
sky, but never two nights in the same place. 

But he really enjoyed his wild, roving life. Daily he 
became more and more charmed by all he saw, and deter- 
mined to make Kentucky his home. After three months 
had passed, Squire returned with two horses, a supply of 
ammunition, and, best of all, news from Daniel's wife 
and children. The two brothers spent the fall and winter 
in hunting and exploring, and when spring came again 
they loaded their horses with all the peltries they could 
carry and set out for the old home on the Yadkin. Pic- 
ture, if you can, the joy of Rebecca and her children when 
the weather-beaten hunter once more sat upon the wooden 
bench before his cabin after an absence of two years. 

But Boone loved adventure too much to stay at home 
and follow the quiet life of a farmer. His one great 
ambition was to open a pathway across the mountains 
through which settlers might enter and enjoy the bounties 
of Kentucky. An opportunity to carry out his cherished 
idea soon presented itself. A company of wealthy men 
in North Carolina wished to buy from the Indians a 
large tract of western land which they might in turn sell 
off in small farms. They chose Daniel Boone to transact 
the business in their behalf. 

The latter accordingly met a council of Cherokee 
Indians, and, in return for a large sum of money, secured 
from them the privilege of settling Kentucky. After the 
treaty had been arranged, a kindly old chieftain took 



218 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



Boone by the hand and said, ''Brother, we have given you 
a fine country, but I believe you will have much trouble 
in settling it." And so he did. 

To encourage immigration, the land company decided 
to construct a road leading into Kentucky and to build 
a fort at its terminus. Again Boone was entrusted with 
the undertaking. It is needless to say that he set about 
his task with a will. At the head of thirty well-armed 
workmen, hired for thirty-three cents a day, he cut and 
blazed a road two hundred miles long, from the Holston 
River in Carolina, over the mountains, through Cumber- 
land Gap, to the Kentucky River. This rude track, the 
first across the eastern highlands to the unexplored West, 
is famous in history as Boone's Trail, or the Wilderness 
Road. 

The new road ended near a salt lick on the southern 
bank of the Kentucky. Here was built Boonesboro, a 

wooden fortification in 
the form of an oblong. 
Each corner of the ob- 
long consisted of a 
two-story blockhouse. 
The sides were formed 
by log cabins which 
opened to the inside. 
The spaces between 
the cabins were filled 
out by a stockade or 
high fence of huge logs sharpened and planted firmly in 
the ground. The opposite ends of the fort contained two 
heavy gates which could be securely closed when neces- 
sary. There were loopholes in the walls and corner build- 
ings, from which the Indians could be watched and fired 
upon. This rude fortification, which could not have with- 




iiOOXEsnoi;o 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 219 

stood the smallest battery, was, nevertheless, bullet- 
proof; and, since the Indians had no cannon, the walls 
were as difficult of entrance as those of a castle. 

Thus were built the Wilderness Road and the frontier 
station of Boonesboro in 1775, the same year in which 
the first battle of the Revolution was fought and in which 
the first martyr's blood was shed at San Diego, in the 
interest of the California redmen. 

Part Four. Pioneer Life in Kentucky 

Shortly after the completion of Boonesboro, Boone 
recrossed the mountains to bring his family to the new 
home he had prepared for them. He had previously 
brought them and a number of other emigrants as far 
west as Cumberland Gap. Here several of the company, 
among them Boone's eldest son, were killed in an Indian 
attack. Alarmed and discouraged, the party retreated 
forty miles back to a settlement on the Clinch River in 
Virginia. 

This timie Boone and his family reached Kentucky in 
safety; and Mrs. Boone and her daughters felt happy, 
indeed, when, standing on the banks of the Kentucky, 
Boone told them they would be famed in history as the 
first white women to look upon that stream and tread 
the fertile soil of beautiful Kentucky. 

Other settlers soon followed through Cumberland Gap 
along the newly-cut Wilderness Road. Before long the 
frontier stations of Harrodsburg, Logansport, Bryan Sta- 
tion, and other forts patterned after Boonesboro, dotted 
the canebrakes of Kentucky and caused the frightened 
buffalo to stampede for the salt licks. 

For some time the early pioneers of Kentucky were 
left quite in peace by the Indians. Their cattle gave them 



220 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

plenty of milk; they made sugar from the sap of the 
maple, gathered honey from hollow bee-trees, and raised 
fine crops of corn on their clearings. The salt hcks fur- 
nished them with plenty of salt, and there was an abun- 
dance of wild meat of every kind. In short, they enjoyed 
a rude plenty, and they were truly happy and prosperous 
in their new palisade homes. 

But would the Indians let them thus peacefully settle 
in "no-man's land"? Ah, no! Hundreds of Shawnees, 
returning from their summer hunt in the southern hills, 
saw the innumerable trackings of men and beasts into 
their beloved hunting grounds. Amazed, they crept 
stealthily along the Wilderness Road and came upon the 
settlements. There was no longer any doubt; the white 
men had invaded their sacred hunting grounds. Their 
amazement gave way to savage wrath. Forthwith a 
runner was despatched to spread the news. "The Chero- 
kees have sold Kentucky," was passed from tribe to tribe. 

The Shawnees and Iroquois promptly gathered in coun- 
cil about their campfires. "Kentucky is 'no-man's land,' " 
said they. "The Cherokees have no right to sell it. We 
will defend our hunting grounds and give them up only 
with our lives." 

Just then the Revolutionary War was well in progress, 
and the wrathful redmen enlisted eagerly in the services 
of the English. A regular Indian war upon the western 
settlements was the outcome. The "hunter's paradise" 
now became in truth a "dark and bloody ground." Its 
pioneer settlements suffered all the horrible outrages 
that could possibly be inflicted by savages who were 
determined to defend their hunting grounds as well as 
gain the rich rewards offered by the British commander 
at Detroit for every American scalp. 

The anxiety and sufferings of the scattered bands of 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 



221 



settlers were terrible. Every step was beset with dangers. 
The hunter in quest of game was tracked and scalped. 
The workman starting on his way to the fields or salt 
licks was laid low at the very gates of the fort by an In- 
dian's rifle. At times bands of hideously painted savages 
assailed the garrisons with terrible fury. Their war- 
whoops were awful to hear and their cruelties sickening 




ATTACKED BY AN INDIAN 



to gaze upon. All these horrors, together with the fact 
that the Indians were alhes of the British, so alarmed 
the people that hundreds of them hastily packed up and 
returned to their old homes in the East. But for the 
influence of Boone and a number of other bold pio- 
neers, the entire country of Kentucky would have been 
abandoned. 

With the close of the Revolution, the redmen were quite 
subdued, and these frightful Indian raids upon the frontier 
settlements gradually ceased. Yet for many years after 
the war the people were never entirely secure against 
Indian treachery. Every now and then straggling savages 



222 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

would kill a lonely farmer on his field, or kidnap an 
unsuspecting woman or an unguarded child. 

Among the pioneer heroes who helped Boone settle and 
save Kentucky must especially be mentioned Simon 
Kenton, a most skilled Indian fighter, and George Rogers 
Clark, the hero of our next story. John Sevier and James 
Robertson stand out as leaders in the early settlement of 
Tennessee. But the West was neither discovered, settled, 
nor won by any single man; we owe its conquest to all 
the backwoodsmen. Still, among them Boone stands out 
as the hero of heroes, from the fact that he was able to 
turn his daring Indian craft to the advantage of his 
fellow-pioneers. Everybody was willing to entrust Daniel 
Boone with even the most adventurous enterprise. He 
was never known to boast, nor could he be influenced to 
do anything small or low. His self-command, patience, 
daring, and trust in himself inspired with confidence all 
who came near him. 

When sixty years of age the great pioneer, accompanied 
by his wife, again slipped away from advancing civiliza- 
tion into the wilderness beyond the Mississippi. There 
he settled in what is now the state of Missouri. By trap- 
ping and hunting diligently for some time he soon saved 
a large sum of money, which he forthwith carried to 
Kentucky. Imagine his joy when he saw how the pioneer 
settlements had grown and prospered. He could not help 
but recall the winter when he was the only white man in 
all the breadth and length of this beautiful country which 
was now so rapidly filling up with people. 

But it was not curiosity, not even his great love for 
the old place, that brought Boone back to Kentucky, but 
rather an important business affair. On one occasion, 
many years previous, when Boone was returning to Ken- 
tucky from a visit on the Yadkin River, he carried with 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 



223 



him twenty thousand dollars. This sum of money had 
been entrusted to him by persons in North Carolina to 
take to their friends in the new country. On the way a 
combined party of Indians and whites fell upon him and 
robbed him of all he had. 

The matter had 
troubled the good man 
for many years, and 
now he had come to 
look up and pay every- 
one who had been 
robbed through him. 
This done, he returned 
to Missouri with only 
half a dollar left. 
*'But," said he, "I have 
paid all my debts and 
no one can say, 'Boone 
was a dishonest 
man.' " 

The old hunter con- 
tinued his hunting and 
rovings in the forest, 
and often made long 
trips into the western 
wilderness, even into Kansas and to the far-away hunting 
fields of the Yellowstone. The greatest affliction of his 
life meanwhile came upon him in the death of his aged 
wife, the faithful Rebecca, so noted for her meek, gener- 
ous, and heroic nature. She was laid at rest on a beautiful 
knoll in the wilderness of Missouri. 

Boone now went to live with one of his sons in Missouri. 
He died at the ripe old age of eighty-six, and was buried 
beside his wife. Some time later the remains of both were 



■'V'. 


■■■i^^^iHi 


,'■■'3 

". r 
*i ■ 




mm ■•:■.■■ ^v« 






^^^^^^^HiKt 



BOONE'S MONUMENT 



224 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

removed to the cemetery of Frankfort, Kentucky. A 
marble monument, on the four squares of which are rep- 
resented scenes from the hero's hfe, marks their final 
resting-place. Thus the noble pioneer is at rest in the 
land into which he opened the Wilderness Road and into 
which he led the first body of pioneers that ever estab- 
lished a settlement in the Middle West completely cut 
off from the seaboard states. 

The Wilderness Road is still only a rough track, no 
more than a sort of side road extending through a rugged 
country. A west-bound traveler of today, making his 
way along it, need no longer climb Cumberland Gap, but 
may be carried to the other side of the mountains by train 
through a tunnel one hundred miles long. Should he 
choose, however, to climb through the Gap as Boone did, 
he will, on reaching the highest point, enjoy, like Boone, 
a beautiful view of the rich blue grass and salt lick region 
below. He will there behold, not the shaggy buffalo and 
wide-antlered deer of old, but great droves of high-bred 
horses and large herds of finest cattle. Where Indian trails 
and buffalo paths once reached out in every direction, rail- 
roads now branch out from the numerous thriving cities 
which have supplanted the log cabins and frontier sta- 
tions in which the pioneer settlers slept always with one 
ear open for the stealthy approach or war-whoop of the 
Indians. 

3. DOWN THE OHIO TO THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY 

Part One. George Rogers Clark Goes to Kentucky 

"I will not take up arms against the King, nor can I 
think of fighting against my fellow-colonists." Thus 
spoke George Rogers Clark, a tall, handsome Virginian, 
only twenty-two years of age. 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 225 

"But what will you do, my boy ?" asked his brown-eyed 
little mother, dropping the long silken stocking of her 
husband which she was darning. 

"He ought to hold with the King," said John Clark, who 
had meanwhile entered the room just in time to hear his 
son's remark and his wife's anxious question. 

"You mean to say, father, that the King ought to treat 
his colonies fairly, so that one might consider it an honor- 
able duty to fight on his side if necessary." 

"That is exactly what I mean to say, my son," said 
John Clark, gazing approvingly upon the youthful patriot. 

"But what v/ill you do?" asked his mother once more. 

"I really don't know, mother. It seems so difficult to 
choose between two evils. Our royal governor. Lord 
Dunmore, undoubtedly honors me highly by offering me 
the position of Major in the Virginia army. It would 
seem most ungrateful on my part to fight against him. 
On the other hand, he is a haughty, treacherous repre- 
sentative of our despotic King, George III." 

The young man became very thoughtful and seemed 
uncommonly distressed. Silent and absent-minded, he 
stroked the sunny head of his four-year-old brother, 
William, who had fallen to sleep upon his knee. "I shall 
fight neither on the side of the King nor on that of the 
colonies — there is still a third alternative," he said at 
length. 

"And what is your alternative? Is it an honorable 
way out of the trouble?" asked his surprised father. 

"I shall go to Kentucky and there join Boone and his 
backwoods companions. Heigh-ho for Kentucky !" he ex- 
claimed with a cheerful ring in his voice. 

"Heigh-ho for Ken-tuck-y," drowsily murmured little 
William, aroused from his slumber. All looked in silence 
at the sleepy child. Could they have peered into the 



226 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

future, they might have beheld WiUiam Clark heading 
the way not to Kentucky but to the Pacific. 

To Kentucky George Rogers Clark did go. On horse- 
back and by canoe he made his way to and down the 
Ohio. He first spent some time surveying lands in West 
Virginia, and finally joined Boone and Kenton in Ken- 
tucky. His intention was to take up land for a home and 
earn his way by surveying. 

But he found so much to do for the struggling Ken- 
tuckians that he quite forgot all about his original idea. 
The Indians were on the warpath most of the time. 
Dressed in hunting shirt, with his rifle upon his shoulder 
and his hunting knife in his belt, Clark would at one 
time pursue the redmen into their retreats, and at another 
time gallop at the head of his horsemen to break up a 
savage attack on some frontier station. 

One time it happened that powder was running short. 
"It is probable," said Clark, "that Virginia will furnish 
us with powder. At any rate, it will be necessary for us 
to make sure whether she is willing to protect her Ken- 
tucky settlements or whether she is disposed to leave these 
to take care of themselves." Virginia, it must be remem- 
bered, had acquired a claim to the territory of Kentucky 
by a treaty with the Iroquois Indians. At a meeting held 
at Harrodsburg the pioneers chose George Rogers Clark 
to go to Virginia and there represent the Kentuckians in 
the Assembly. 

Jeff"erson had just returned to Monticello from writing 
and signing the Declaration of Independence in Philadel- 
phia when Clark, cut by thorns and briers and covered 
with ragged clothes, strode into Williamsburg, the capital 
of Virginia. 

Lord Dunmore, the royal governor, had some time pre- 
vious been forced to flee from the wrath of the people, 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 227 

and had sailed away for England midst a raking fire from 
the shore. After the wretched governor's flight, Patrick 
Henry had been elected first American governor of Vir- 
ginia. When Clark appeared before the new governor in 
his headquarters at the palace, the latter could not help 
but admire the noble youth who stood before him ear- 
nestly pleading for a supply of gunpowder wherewith to 
save Kentucky. 

"Your errand and your cause are good," said Patrick 
Henry after the young backwoods surveyor had made his 
pressing request. "I shall give you a letter to the council." 

The members of the Virginia Council looked up with 
amazement when they heard Clark's urgent appeal. "Five 
hundred pounds of gunpowder!" said they. "As it is, 
Virginia is straining herself to the utmost trying to do 
her part in the fight against England. It cannot, there- 
fore, be expected to waste gunpowder in Kentucky. Why 
not move these settlers back to Virginia and thus save 
the money that it would take to protect them in their 
remote frontier?" 

"Move Boone and Kenton and Logan and Harrod back?" 
exclaimed Clark with a ringing laugh. "You might as 
well think of transporting the buffalo and deer to Vir- 
ginia. Besides, Kentucky is like a back-door to the Old 
Dominion, and its pioneers may be compared to guards 
defending this door. If the savages exterminate the set- 
tlers of Kentucky because these have no powder where- 
with to load their rifles, the Virginians will be the losers, 
for who will then be left to keep the savages from swarm- 
ing in and laying waste their homes ?" 

Clark knew that a large supply of powder was stored 
at Fort Pitt, our present Pittsburgh. It had just been 
brought with great difficulty from New Orleans by way 
of the Mississippi and Ohio, and was the first cargo of 



228 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



the kind that was ever transported by this western water 
route, 

"We cannot give you the powder, but we can lend it 
to you, provided you are wilhng to attend to the trans- 
portation of the same," declared the Council at length. 
But Clark shook his head and said: "I cannot borrow 
it from you, since I can neither promise to return it nor 

pay for it; nor can I, 
without your help, 
convey it safely to 
Kentucky through a 
region swarming with 
savages." 

"God knows we 
would help you if we 
could," returned the 
Council, "but we can 
do no more for you." 
"Very well," re- 
turned Clark. "A country that is not worth defending 
is not worth claiming. And since Virginia will not de- 
fend Kentucky, the latter will have to take care of itself 
independent of the mother colony." 

Thus speaking, Clark turned on his heels and left the 
Council. To his surprise, however, he was recalled the 
next day and promised five hundred pounds of gunpowder 
which would be dehvered to him at Fort Pitt. The Council 
furthermore asked him to carry back with him to the 
frontier settlements the news that Kentucky would hence- 
forth be considered as a county of Virginia. Thus, only 
one month after the Declaration of Independence, the 
young nation already reached out to the West opened by 
Boone and his sturdy backwoods companions. 

With a light heart, Clark, assisted by a number of 




BLOCKHOUSE AT FORT PITT 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 229 

boatmen, launched his precious cargo on the Ohio. And 
down they floated. The Indians, however, were on the 
alert and were soon in hot pursuit. But with all the energy 
possible to human strength and courage, Clark and his 
oarsmen hastened down the swift stream. For five hun- 
dred miles the chase continued, until the pursued ran up 
a creek, rolled out their powder kegs on Kentucky soil, 
and sent the boat adrifting. While the Indians followed 
the empty canoe some distance downstream, Clark and his 
companions quickly concealed the powder among the rocks 
and trees and struck out overland for Harrodsburg. Ken- 
ton and a small party of men promptly set out for the 
place where the powder had been hidden, and returned 
safely, each bearing a keg on his shoulder. 

The whole Indian country had emptied itself, as it 
were, to scourge Kentucky. The very dogs were in fear; 
the horses and cattle were restless. Even the jay in the 
tree-top and the wren in its hollow seemed to chatter less 
freely, and the owl to hoot more dolefully from the 
shady old sycamore. The pioneers were soon cooped up 
in their fortifications, Boone was in Boonesboro, Clark in 
Harrodsburg, and Logan in Logansport. 

March, April, May, June, and July passed and the hot 
and stifling days of August came. The people, walled up 
in their forts, began to suffer extremely. Again ammu- 
nition was failing. Provisions, too, were short, for there 
had been no planting. And still the savages lay about the 
forts. Kentucky was truly in a sad plight. For a time 
it seemed as if it must again become "no-man's land," such 
as it had been before the sturdy backwoodsmen with their 
wives and children began their struggle for a home in it. 
Was there no hope of relief? Every eye was fixed upon 
Clark. And this brave young leader was all the while 
thinking hard and secretly forming great plans, all of 



230 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



which, strange to say, concerned not Kentucky directly, 
but rather the country north of the Ohio. 

This region, which once belonged to the French, who 
still peopled its scattered posts and villages, was then in 
the hands of the British. Colonel Hamilton, the English 




A PIONEER HOME 



governor of this northwest territory, is known in history 
as the "hair buyer" from the fact that he not only incited 
the Indiaiis against the Americans, but even went so far 
as to promise a rich reward to the redmen for every 
American scalp they would bring him. 



Part Two. Clark Plans to Take Possession of the British 
Outposts North of the Ohio 

"Never," Clark reasoned with himself, "shall we be able 
to drive off the Indians or make peace with them unless 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 231 

we gain control of the French posts held by the British 
at Kaskaskia, Cahokia, Vincennes, and other points. (See 
map, page 89.) Unknown to anyone, he had already sent 
trusty spies to these very posts. As stealthily as the wary 
redmen, these scouts had slipped from their wooden fort 
and had stolen away as silently as the panther to the 
country north of the Ohio. 

"And what have you learned?" Clark asked them in a 
whisper when they returned some weeks later in the dark- 
ness of the night. 

"The forts are carelessly guarded," said they, "and the 
French are secretly our friends, though the English are 
trying their best to make them hostile. As for the Indians, 
they have always, even from the time of Father Mar- 
quette and Joliet, leaned more to the French than to the 
English." 

Upon receiving this information, Clark at once resolved 
to take possession of the British outposts north of the 
Ohio. He knew, however, that men with families could 
not well leave, and that, therefore, most of his fellow- 
settlers would have to remain in Kentucky to defend their 
homes. Consequently, he would be obliged to secure the 
greater part of his force from Virginia. 

Without saying a word to anyone of his secret inten- 
tion, the young hero buckled on his sword, shouldered his 
rifle, and with more than human daring slipped from his 
wooden stronghold and sped away straight through the 
ranks of the sleeping besiegers. The Wilderness Road 
was lit up by the great bonfires of the savages, and 
Cumberland Gap was closed. So up over the autumn- 
colored mountain-tops he went, on and on, till he reached 
his father's house in Virginia, late in the night. Little 
William heard him coming and sprang from his trundle 
bed to unbar the door for his elder brother. But the latter 



232 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

tarried only long enough to hear the latest happenings, 
and then hastened away to Williamsburg. 

There, to his great delight, he came upon Jefferson and 
Madison, his neighbors of old. These two famous patriots 
listened with interest to his plans. "Let's be off to the 
governor," said the author of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, with a warm grasp of the hand. 

"Did you get the powder?" asked Patrick Henry when 
Clark entered his apartment a little later. 

"We got the powder," answered the young man. "With 
it we have saved Kentucky thus far. But all the savages 
of the country are still upon us ; they seem as numerous 
as the leaves of the trees. Unless something can be done 
at once, Kentucky will yet be lost. I have plans, however, 
which, if carried out successfully, will make friends of 
the enraged savages and save the frontier stations." 

"And what are your plans?" inquired Patrick Henry 
eagerly. "Let me hear them." 

Clark made answer: "I mean to gain possession of 
Kaskaskia, Cahokia, Vincennes, and other British out- 
posts in the Ohio country, since at these places the Indians 
are fed, clothed, armed, and stirred up against us. Fur- 
thermore, the French inhabitants of these towns under 
British control have great influence over the redmen, and 
are at the same time kindly disposed toward us Americans. 
They may therefore help us win over the Indians." 

"Yours is a brilliant plan, young man," said Patrick 
Henry, delighted. And he forthwith made Clark a Colonel. 
He also gave him power to raise seven companies. To the 
officers at Fort Pitt he gave orders to supply our friend 
with boats and powder. 

During the winter our hero was busy trying to raise 
troops. But he had set himself a hard task. It was diffi- 
cult to find men who were not needed at home or who 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 



233 



had not already entered their country's service. Never- 
theless, he finally succeeded in recruiting a small army. 
When springtime came he embarked at Fort Pitt with 
about one hundred and fifty men and some twenty pioneer 
famines. Just as the fleet of flatboats was pulhng out, 
Clark was handed a letter. From its contents he learned 
that France had decided to join the colonies against 
England. This was good news ! Now the French in the 
Northwest Territory would be all the more easily won 






^^<ft^/ 




CORN ISLAND 



over to the American cause. Hopefully the little band 
drifted down the swift-flowing stream to what was then 
known as the Falls of the Ohio. Here, opposite the place 
where Louisville now stands, lay Corn Island, which has 
since been swept away by the rapid current. 

"Do you see that high rocky island at the head of the 
Falls?" said Clark to his men. 'Tt is safe from the 
Indians. Let us locate there. While the troops construct 
a fort, the families can clear a field and plant their corn." 

Soon the sounds of the ax disturbed the silence of cen- 
turies. The odor of the falling hawthorne trees filled the 
air. The startled eagles soared aloft toward the sun. 
The gulls fluttered and swept away over the falls, and 
the high-walking cranes fled in alarm. Across the river 



234 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

on the Kentucky side, the deer, bear, and buffalo, roaming 
in the shades of the sycamores, looked on in dumb 
surprise. 

Meanwhile Simon Kenton, with a band of Kentuckians, 
had joined the busy workers, and at length the fortifica- 
tion stood completed among the yellow-topped stumps of 
the great trees of which it had been built. Clark now 
summoned all the men and divided them into four com- 
panies. What a sight they were — these backwoodsmen, 
bronzed by the sun and tireless as the deer of the forest ! 
With their rifles grounded, they expectantly awaited fur- 
ther orders from their Colonel, who stood before them, 
stately, vigorous, and brave, though only twenty-six years 
of age. 

Until now the young leader had kept his plan a secret, 
leaving his men under the impression that they were 
merely engaged to defend Kentucky. But now he told 
them that he meant to carry the war into Hamilton's 
country and take possession of all the British outposts. 
All were silent after the brave speaker had finished, but 
only for a moment. Then a shout went up from the ranks 
that drowned the noise of the falls. There were a few, 
however, who did not cheer, and these deserted during 
the night. 

The next morning one hundred and eighty men em- 
barked with Clark for Kaskaskia. The sun shone bril- 
liantly upon the departing fleet, but at the very moment 
when the flotilla was shooting the rapids it was darkened 
in a total eclipse. The incident was regarded as a good 
omen. Some one in the company, we are told, remarked, 
"Hamilton's scalp is hanging by a lock across the sun." 
The word was passed from boat to boat, and on dashed 
the men, with cheers and laughter. Four days and four 
nights they rowed down the river, never stopping until 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 235 

they landed about three miles below the mouth of the 
Tennessee, near an old French outpost. 

Two hunters who happened to be encamped at the place 
agreed to pilot them to Kaskaskia. It would have been 
much easier for Clark and his men to have gone all the 
way by water, but they feared that spies stationed along 
the Mississippi might carry the news of their coming to 
the British posts. The boats were therefore run into a 
small creek and hidden. The little army then started off 
on a hundred-mile tramp across the trackless wilderness. 
At times they marched through dense forests and over 
wide, grassy plains. Again, they forded rivers or waded 
through swamps. But on the evening of the third day, 
they halted about one mile opposite Kaskaskia, with the 
Kaskaskia River flowing between them and the town. 

From their elevated position, Clark and his men looked 
down with joyful hearts upon the goal of their long and 
difficult tramp. With folded arms our hero stood gazing 
upon the peaceful little French village with its low houses, 
orchards, and gardens softly gilded by the last rays of the 
evening sun. In the center of the town stood a neat stone 
church ; and southward from this sacred place, quite close 
to the water's edge, nestled the fort, surmounted by the 
King's Colors. Great herds of cattle grazed on the sur- 
rounding plains, and far away to the westward could be 
seen the Mississippi gleaming through vast groves of 
Cottonwood. 

For a long time Clark stood viewing the beautiful scene. 
But when the sweet-toned bell of the church rang out the 
Angelus, he seemed strangely touched. Turning to his 
men resting under the trees, he exclaimed : "Boys, this is 
the Fourth of July. Two years ago today the Liberty Bell 
proclaimed the birth of a new nation. If we take Kas- 
kaskia tonight, it will be like giving to our nation a birth- 



236 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

day gift of the oldest town on the Mississippi. And who 
knows but before long, as a result of tonight's work, not 
only this country to the north of the Ohio will belong to 
the American people, but also all the territory extending 
far westward even to the mighty Pacific." 



Part Three. George Rogers Clark Takes Possession of 
Kaskaskia and Cahokia 

At nightfall Clark and his little company noiselessly 
crossed the Kaskaskia on a boat obtained nearby, and 
proceeded silently along a sort of cow-path to within 
a short distance of the town. Here they halted and 
listened almost breathlessly. But not a sound dis- 
turbed the stillness of the night, save that of the crickets 
and frogs in the marshy plain, and the whirring of the 
prairie grouse which had been frightened from their 
haunts. Satisfied that no one within the village knew of 
their coming, the larger portion of the army stealthily 
surrounded the town, while Clark at the head of the re- 
maining band of men, entered the fort, captured the Eng- 
lish commander in bed, and made prisoners of the 
garrison. 

Then, as the story runs, attracted by the sound of 
music coming from an open window, the Colonel slipped 
through a little gate and strode quite unperceived into 
the open door of a rudely-built ball-room filled with merry 
dancers. Most of the villagers, even the sentinels, were 
there. A group of Indians were sitting on the floor. One 
of them chanced to look in the direction of the door. Im- 
agine his surprise when he beheld Clark's majestic figure 
clad in rough backwoodsman's dress, leaning against the 
door with his arms folded and a smile upon his weather- 
beaten face. 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 



237 



In the twinkle of an eye the redman was on his feet 
uttering a most frightful warwhoop. The music ceased 
instantly. The dancers paled and stood as if fixed to the 
floor. But they somewhat recovered from their fright 
when Clark quietly said, "Keep on enjoying yourselves. 
Only remember that you are now dancing under the flag 
of Virginia and not under that of the English King which 
floated over you when your fiddler struck up his music." 




CAPTURE OF THE ENGLISH COMMANDER 



No one thought of resisting, neither did any one think 
of continuing the dance, but all fled to hide away in the 
darkness of their homes dreading what the morning 
might bring. For the English had taught their French 
and Indian subjects to call the Americans Big Knives and 
to fear them quite as much as the worst of savages. 

To strengthen the Kaskaskians in this idea and thereby 
to frighten them into submission, as it were, Clark's 
troops, at the signal of three rifle reports, started up such 
hideous whooping and scalp-hallooing as might have 



238 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 




given credit to the most savage redmen. As the blood- 
curdling notes echoed and re-echoed from the bluffs be- 
yond, the poor people shrieked and trembled. 'The Amer- 
icans are Big Knives indeed," said they, "and we have 
nothing better than captivity, torture, and death to ex- 
pect from them." 

Meanwhile runners were speeding through the streets 
of the town ordering the people under pain of death to 
keep close within doors. At length the 
crowing of the cocks announced the 
dawn of the new day. The hot July 
sun soon beat down upon Kaskaskia. 
But the quaint little houses with their 
sloping roofs and wide porches re- 
mained darkened, the doors closed, 
and the garden walks deserted. The 
church bell tolled forth sad and mourn- 
ful tones so different from its cheery 
peals of the previous evening. While all was thus 
wrapped in silent dread, a man clad in a flowing black 
robe was seen to hasten quietly along the lifeless streets 
in the direction of the fort. His whole bearing bespoke 
dignity, courage, and trials borne for others. It was 
the village priest, the venerable Father Pierre Gibault. 
He was soon joined by a small band of villagers and 
together with these he sought Colonel Clark. 

"Allow me, good sir," said the priest, "to assemble my 
people in the church, that they may there attend services, 
and then take leave of each other." 

"My good Father," said Clark, "an American com- 
mander has but one duty toward any house of God and 
that is to protect it. Do as you please about the matter, 
but see to it that no one leaves the town." 
The face of the noble priest kindled as he said warmly, 



FATHKH GIB.M'LT 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 239 

"By this answer, Colonel Clark, you have made Americans 
of the Kaskaskians." 

Before long the frightened citizens of Kaskaskia were 
seen thronging to the church. There before the candle- 
lit altar they knelt and prayed in common. Then Father 
Gibault, who knew and loved his people well, spoke to 
them in words so eloquent and convincing that all became 
quite resigned to any fate that might befall them. They 
waited patiently while the good priest again went to con- 
fer with the American Colonel. 

"My people," said Father Gibault to Clark, "beg but for 
their lives. They are willing to submit to the loss of their 
homes according to the fate of war, but, in case you in- 
tend to carry them away into captivity, they entreat you 
not to separate man from wife, nor parents from their 
children." 

"Do not mistake us for savages," declared Clark ab- 
ruptly. "Our intention is to prevent sufferings, not to 
cause such. We have tramped through a thousand miles 
of wilderness to drive the British from your towns so that 
they may no longer arm the savages and send them out to 
slaughter our wives and children and destroy our homes. 
We do not fight against Frenchmen. Your French King 
Louis, convinced that the Americans' cause is just, has 
joined hands with Washington. He has given our coun- 
try money and is sending ships and soldiers to help us. 
Be not alarmed. Your rights shall be respected. Your 
townspeople may go where they please, safe in person 
and property. But they must take the oath of allegiance 
to Congress. Go now and tell this to your people who 
are waiting for you at the church." 

Deep silence reigned when Father Gibault told his ex- 
pectant flock what Clark had said. They were at first 
speechless with astonishment and then fell to praising 



240 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

God with streaming tears. Shouts of wildest joy rent the 
air. "Long live the Americans ! Long live Colonel Clark, 
the savior of Kaskaskia!" was the cry that rose to the 
sky and was sent back by the bluffs beyond, while the 
bells of old Kaskaskia pealed forth as joyously as did the 
Liberty Bell two years earlier. It is needless to say that 
when Father Gibault and his people once more wended 
their way homeward they were Americans indeed. 

Thus the first of the English outposts was taken with- 
out the loss of a life, though the event was undoubtedly 
hazardous as it was important. "Now carry the good 
news to our neighbors at Cahokia," said Father Gibault. 
And the happy Kaskaskians forthwith brought out their 
best ponies and rode with Major Bowman and a detach- 
ment of Americans to the little French settlement which 
lay about sixty miles up the Mississippi directly opposite 
the Spanish town St. Louis. The undertaking was a 
dangerous one, for Cahokia was the center at which Brit- 
ish agents were accustomed to assemble the Indians to 
give them arms and incite them against the Americans. 

"The Big Knives," cried the Cahokians, trembling with 
fear, when Bowman with his men burst into the town. 

"But they come as friends," said the Kaskaskians. And 
they went on telling the Cahokians -all the latest happen- 
ings even as Father Gibault had told them. As a result 
the latter joyfully welcomed the Americans and hauled 
down the British flag to raise in its stead the Stars and 
Stripes, then but one year old. Prairie du Rocher and 
Fort Charteres, too, submitted readily to American rule. 

Part Pour. Father Gibault Secures the Allegiance of 

ViNCENNES FOR ClARK 

More important, however, than the posts thus far 
taken was Vincennes. It lay eastward from Cahokia, on 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 241 

the Indiana bank of the Wabash River. It was more 
populous than any of the other outposts and was more 
easily reached from Detroit, the English center of sup- 
plies and conquest in the Northwest. Though a most 
venturesome undertaking, Clark intended to capture the 
place with his handful of backwoodsmen. 

"Do not move against St. Vincennes," pleaded Father 
Gibault. "I know my people. Let me speak to them for 
you, and you shall have the post for the asking." 

**You, Father, go to Vincennes !" exclaimed Clark. 
"Make that difficult and dangerous journey of more than 
a hundred and fifty miles !" 

"I shall not mind the hardships nor the length of the 
journey," answered the priest simply. 

Colonel Clark gazed silently at the noble speaker. He 
well knew that for more than a hundred years the mis- 
sionaries of the Church had walked the wilds alone with 
God, not minding sufferings, tortures, or even death. 
During his short acquaintance with Father Gibault, the 
young man had learned to admire the fine qualities in the 
humble missionary, whom he found possessed of unusual 
tact and personal influence. 

"By the way," continued the priest, breaking the 
silence, "I have a small sum of money, the savings of 
years for the time of old age. You are more in need of 
it now than I am. Accept it from me in the name of Him 
who became all to all." 

Colonel Clark was deeply touched and tried to conceal 
his emotion by saying almost rudely, '*I do not want your 
money, Father ; keep it, as you intended, for your time of 
want." But the priest was persistent, and Clark, with 
deep admiration and gratitude, accepted Father Gibault's 
services and his money as well. 

The patriotic priest then hastened away on his pony 



242 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



to St. Vincennes on the Wabash. With him went Captain 
Helm and a small detachment of soldiers. The people of 
Vincennes were not slow to assemble in their little log 
church. Here Father Gibault told them with his usual 
winning eloquence how Kaskaskia was taken and how 
France had joined with the Americans against the Brit- 



-v?sm 




ST. FRANCIS XAVIEK CHl'iaH AT OLD VINCENNES 



ish. He so completely won over every one of his listeners 
to the American cause that they gladly declared them- 
selves citizens of the American Republic and welcomed 
Captain Helm with one soldier and a little squad of volun- 
teers to the garrison. 

Meanwhile a number of women had been busy sewing 
together a flag like that made for Washington by Betsy 
Ross. It was now hastily finished, sewed to a staff, and 
then one of the maidens of Vincennes, unwilling to entrust 
the treasured ensign to anyone, sped away with it toward 
the fort, where the people stood in scattered groups 
around the central blockhouse. 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 243 

Unnoticed by all, she entered through a break in the 
palisade, mounted a rude ladder, and firmly planted the 
Stars and Stripes on the roof of the blockhouse, where it 
beautifully unfolded for the first time to the breezes of 
the Northwest Territory. Then she slipped out of the fort 
to wend her way thoughtfully across the prairie. She was 
soon startled out of her reverie by an Indian leaping 
serpent-like from a clump of bushes right into her path. 
Pointing with one hand to the flag on the fort and hold- 
ing aloft a tomahawk in the other, he demanded fiercely, 
"What for be that new flag on fort? What people be 
yonder?" 

The girl was much frightened and quite lost her breath, 
but she quickly mastered herself and said calmly, "The 
great Chief of the Big Knives has come. The French 
have joined the Americans. Your old friend the King of 
France is angry at you for fighting with the English. We 
are now friends of the Big Knives. You, too, must make 
peace with them." 

• For a moment the redman was silent while a strange^ 
hideous glare shone from his eyes. Then he plunged 
into the high grass and was off again. 

Part Five. George Rogers Clark Adds the Northwest 
Territory to the United States 

"The Great Chief of the Big Knives has come," was 
the rumor that flew from one Indian camp to another. 
The redmen were amazed. From all directions the war- 
riors, great and small, hastened to make treaties of peace 
with the victorious Big Knives. Into Cahokia they 
swarmed like bees, asking to see the great Chief. In 
vain General Bowman tried to put them off. So Clark 
went to Cahokia. He well knew that if he failed to im- 
press the redmen with his power and the power of the 



244 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



country for which he fought, neither he nor his men 
would ever see Kentucky again. He therefore passed fear- 
lessly and with apparent indifference through the throngs 
of plumed and painted chieftains who watched like wolves 
for any signs of weakness in the great white chief. 

"I shall not give them presents," said Clark to himself. 
"It would only lead them to believe that I fear them. Let 
them beg for peace." And addressing the assembled 
chiefs he said sternly, "Men and warriors, listen to my 




CLARK'S COUNCIL WITH THE INDIAN CHIEFS 



words. I am a warrior and not a counsellor. I am sent 
by the Chief of the Big Knives to take all the towns 
owned by the English and to watch the redmen. Here 
in my right hand I hold the red belt of war, and in my left 
the green belt of peace. Take your choice. If you choose 
the war belt you may return to your English friends and 
get ready to fight. If you choose the peace belt you shall 
be the friends of the Big Knives and of the French." 

The inborn admiration of the savages for courage 
and bravery was powerfully aroused by Clark's firm 
and fearless behavior toward them. One by one the 
tribes made peace and Clark soon held absolute sway 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 245 

over the whole country from the Wabash to the 
Mississippi. 

Great was the wrath of the "hair buyer" general at 
Detroit when he heard what Clark had done. "I will re- 
gain Vincennes," said he, and hurriedly gathering a strong 
detachment of redcoats, he set out for the post during 
the early part of October. He took the place by surprise 
and the townspeople having no other choice, again sub- 
mitted to English rule. 

"I shall quarter here for the winter," said Hamilton. 
"In the spring I shall march across to Kaskaskia and 
Cahokia and sweep over Kentucky." Again the "hair 
buyer" sent out his runners in every direction with 
presents and messages to the Indians. Thousands of 
red-handled scalping knives were distributed. Whole 
hordes of Indian warriors went out in every direction, 
some to guard the Ohio, some to watch the settlements, 
and others to stir up the most distant tribes. 

"If I don't take Hamilton, he'll take me," said Clark, 
"But with the help of Heaven, I'll take Hamilton." And 
though it was mid-winter on the bleak prairies of Illinois, 
he immediately set out with a company of his men along 
the fur-trader's trail to Vincennes. Father Gibault 
blessed them as they marched away. 

Over all the prairies the snows were melting, the rains 
falling, and the rivers flooding. Deep and deeper grew 
the creeks and the sloughs as they neared the bottom- 
lands oi the Wabash. Knee-deep, waist-deep, breast- 
high, over their shoulders the waters flowed as they 
waded across. Sometimes they were even swimming, 
breaking the ice for miles as they went. But still on and 
on they staggered following their undaunted leader while 
their fourteen-year-old drummer boy, seated on the shoul- 
ders of a tall soldier, beat the charge with all his might, 



246 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



though his hands were so numb that he could scarcely 
hold the sticks. Never has the history of our country 
recorded another such march. 

Clark and his men pressed on until close upon Vin- 
cennes. There in the mud, nearly frozen and starved, 




THE WAKCH TO VINCENNES 

Clark penned on his knee a letter to the citizens of 
Vincennes. This is what he told them: 

"I will take your fort tonight. Those who are true Americans 
remain quietly in their homes. Those, if any there be, who are 
friends of the King will repair to the fort, join the 'hair buyer' gen- 
eral, and prepare to fight." 



"Take this," said Clark to a hunter from the post whom 
he had encountered on the way. "Tell the people of Vin- 
cennes that I have come against the British and not 
against them, and that we shall enter their town with the 
rising of the moon." 

With the friendly light of the moon full upon them, 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 



247 



Clark and his sharpshooters began to rain their bullets 
upon the fort from behind their entrenchments. 

"Surrender !" demanded Clark of Hamilton at daybreak. 

"Give me some days to consider," answered Hamilton. 

"Not an hour," was Clark's 
reply. 

The fort soon surrendered 
and with it British rule in the 
Northwest Territory ended 
forever. 

"Let the English flag float 
for some days," said Clark. 
"It will give us a chance to 
become acquainted with some 
of Hamilton's red friends." 
And so it happened, for soon 
painted savages came from 
every direction with bloody 
scalps dangling from their 
belts. But each as he entered 
was shot down under the very eyes of the "hair buyer" 
general. Fifty had thus fallen before the British flag was 
lowered. But the redmen took the lesson to heart and 
from that day forward were slow indeed to accept re- 
wards for the scalps of white men. 

The Stars and Stripes, which had meanwhile been held 
in hiding by the loyal Frenchmen, was once more hoisted 
above Vincennes, never to come down again. Its beauti- 
ful folds were caught by a sudden breeze. Strong voices 
cheered and thirteen cannon thundered from the block- 
house — one for each colony — though there should have 
been fourteen, the additional one for the great Northwest 
Territory which was that day annexed to the domain of 
the United States. 




'^flf-rt-~~^ 



STATUf: OF (iEORTiF, T:0(iERS CLARK 



248 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

In the center of the square, under the flag, stood George 
Rogers Clark, the hero of the day, unassuming, stately, 
and noble. His was an achievement scarcely surpassed 
by any other of the Revolution. By his conquest of the 
British outposts he had added to the United States all 
the country north of the Ohio River and as far west as 
the Mississippi. Because of this America could say to 
England after the Revolution was over, "Your possessions 
extend from the frozen north to the Great Lakes, but 
beyond this the land is ours." 

Five states — Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wis- 
consin — were formed out of the Northwest Territory, and 
these were given to our country by George Rogers Clark. 

4. THE OLD NATIONAL PIKE 
Part One. The Building of the Road 

Boone and Clark, and their hardy pioneer companions 
had opened and saved for the United States the great 
Middle West. Portions of this western territory were 
claimed by the various seaboard states. After the Revo- 
lutionary War, however, these states made over their 
claims to the United States government on condition that 
it would pay their war debts with the money coming in 
from the sale of the western land. 

Soon parties of emigrants were making their v/ay 
westward across the Alleghany Mountains. On foot and 
horseback, with packhorses, handcarts, and wheelbarrows 
they went. Let us imagine one such party of movers. 
On the first horse rode the mother with the baby. About 
her were packed all sorts of household belongings. A 
second horse carried eatables and various farming uten- 
sils. The third bore a rude cradle in each end of which 
was seated a child so buried in bedclothing that only the 
head could be seen. Following the train came the father 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 



249 



and several of the older children, driving the cattle. If 
a 'horse happened to pass too close to the edge of a 
precipice, it fell hundreds of feet into the chasm below. 
Whole bands of settlers also moved westward by way 
of the Ohio River, coming down the stream from Pitts- 
burgh on flatboats heavy with cattle and household goods. 




A PACKHORSE TRAIN CROSSING THE MOUNTAINS 

They settled on the Ohio and Mississippi, where they 
cleared away the forests and built home for themselves. 
By and by small villages and towns grew up. Yet this 
western country was being settled but slowly. It was 
too far away from the seaboard cities and towns. Travel- 
ing and moving on foot and on horseback across the 
mountains were difficult ventures. People of those days 
spoke of "going into" and "coming out of" the West as 
if it were a mighty cave or canyon. It was the danger 
of not getting there alive, rather than even the difficult 
and dangerous living in the wild country, that kept the 
people from emigrating to it. 



250 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



At about this period of our history, our illustrious 
statesman, Henry Clay, was one day traveling in his 
chaise along the road leading to the city of Wheeling in 
West Virginia. While fording a small stream near 
Brownsville, Pennsylvania, his carriage overturned. When 
he struggled to his feet and looked at his peach-blossom 




HENRY CLAY ADDRESSING THE SENATE 

coat, leather knee-breeches, and woolen stockings all wet 
and covered with mud, he declared resolutely, with a 
twinkle in his eyes, "Clay and mud shall not be mixed 
here again." The awkward event proved a fortunate mis- 
hap, for, true to his word, Henry Clay finally persuaded 
Congress to build an iron bridge across the stream. 

This was but one of Clay's many efforts toward better- 
ing the conditions of travel and traflfic in our country. 
He was the leader of a party of men who petitioned 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 251 

Congress long and earnestly to build a wagon road across 
the mountains to the Middle West. "Why," said he, "let 
the western pioneers float their products down to New 
Orleans and there trade with the merchants of Europe? 
They might as well bring their flour, skins, meat, and 
other products to Virginia and receive in exchange the 
farm implements, clothing, and household goods produced 
here or brought here from abroad. Unless something can 
be done to connect the East and the West, the two sections 
can never become a great united country linked together 
by common interests and friendly feelings." 

Thus, too, Washington had spoken some years earlier. 
Thus, too, thought Jefferson, who was then president. 
At length, in 1806, Congress consented to use a part of 
the money coming in from the sale of the western lands 
to construct our first and only great national wagon road. 
In order that it might truly connect the East and the 
West, as intended by Henry Clay, it would have to extend 
from the tidewater region of the Atlantic to the head- 
waters 01 the Mississippi, the great waterway of the 
West. The only highway leading from the Atlantic coast 
beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains through southwestern 
Pennsylvania at the time was the famous old pike known 
as Braddock's Road, which had been blazed by George 
Washington when a young man. The old trail extended 
from the tidewater region at Baltimore to Cumberland, 
in the very heart of the Alleghanies, and thence on 
toward Fort Pitt. Congress decided that the new national 
road should begin at Cumberland and thus become a con- 
tinuation of the old Braddock's Road. 

Soon a number of surveyors were busy laying out and 
blazing the new track. Starting at Cumberland, they 
followed an old buffalo and Indian trail up, over, and down 
the Alleghanies toward the Mississippi. In 1811 began 



252 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



the building of the Great National Pike, and the first 
part of the lately blazed track became a busy scene in- 
deed. The sound of the workmen's axes and the crash 
of falling trees filled the air from morning till night for 
many days, weeks, months, and years. So dense were 
the forests in some places that it has been fittingly said, 
"The pioneers fought their way westward through wood 
like a bullet through a board." 



NEW YORK 




CUMBERLAND KOAD 



As soon as a path four rods wide had been cleared for 
some miles, stone, gravel, and sand were hauled to cover 
the track. The middle of the carriage-way was built a 
little higher than the edges of the road-bed. Drains and 
ditches were dug to lead off the water, and massive stone 
bridges were constructed over the rivers. Some streams 
were shallow enough to be forded, while others could be 
crossed by means of ferries. Mileposts were erected all 
along the course of the new highway. 

The road measured nearly seven hundred miles. Joined 
to Braddock's Road, it formed a great, broad highway, 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 



253 



extending from Chesapeake Bay at Baltimore through 
Maryland in the direction of Frederick and Hagerstown 
to Cumberland. From here it continued northward into 
Pennsylvania, over Henry Clay's bridge spanning the 
Monongahela River at Brownsville, across several ranges 
of the Alleghany Mountains, down to the Ohio River at 
WheeHng, and, later, on through Ohio, Indiana, and 
lUinois, to Vandalia. 




A CONESTOGA WAGON AT A TOLLGATE 



The first two hundred and seventy miles were macad- 
amized. The building of the entire highway cost the 
government ten million dollars. Portions of it were even- 
tually made over to the various states through which it 
passed, on condition that they keep it in repair. To meet 
this expense, the states erected tollgates, or pikes, at 
which travelers had to pay a toll, or passage fee, before 
they were permitted to continue their way. 

Part Two. Life on the Old National Pike 

No sooner was the Cumberland Road completed than 
population from the East fairly poured into the Middle 



254 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

West, settling in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee. 
A traveler who passed along the Old National Pike at the 
time wrote, "Old America seems to be breaking up and 
moving westward." The few families that went from 
each place on the seaboard were scarcely missed, but when 
they met on the great road to the West, they made an 
endless procession of wagons and foot parties. The 
account of one turnpike keeper in Pennsylvania alone 
showed two thousand and one families as having passed 
his gate between March and December. Soon mail and 
passenger coaches rushed along the track at the rate of 
ten miles an hour, and sometimes even faster. One old 
stage driver in eastern Ohio spoke of himself and his 
companions as not having gone to bed for twenty nights 
and that at the time more than a hundred teams might 
have been met in traveling a distance of only twenty miles. 

The mail was at first carried in regular passenger 
coaches, but later special stages were built for the pur- 
pose. From three to six passengers might travel in these 
mail coaches. Several armed guards always made the 
journey with the driver to protect the mails from the all 
too frequent attacks of mountain robbers. 

The first coaches to run on the Cumberland Road were 
long and awkward conveyances without braces or springs. 
The seats were placed crosswise. The door was in front 
and a passenger on entering had to climb over the seats. 
Later this style of coach was somewhat improved by 
placing the body of the conveyance upon thick leather 
straps which served as springs. Still later a very hand- 
some coach came into use — painted and decorated on the 
outside and lined with soft silk plush within. It usually 
contained three seats, each of which accommodated three 
persons. In front on a high outer seat sat the driver. 
Near him there was room for another passenger. These 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 



255 



coaches often bore the names of states, of great men, or 
of nations, and sometimes fanciful names such as Jewess, 
Sultana, and Ivanhoe. 

The great Conestoga wagon, or road freighter, had a 
long and deep box which very much resembled a canoe 
in shape. The bottom curved upward at either end to 
keep the heavy loads from sliding backward or forward 




EMIGRANTS ON THE OLD NATIONAL PIKE 

in going up or down hill. The top covering was white 
canvas snugly drawn over broad wooden bows. The large 
wheels of these wagons had wide tires, usually measuring 
four inches, so that they would not cut the roadbed. 

These great wagons hauled the products of the mill and 
factory or the rich harvest of the fields to and fro across 
the mountains. The loads carried on the road freighters 
were very large, often weighing nine thousand pounds or 
more. They were usually drawn by teams of six, seven, 
eight, or nine strong horses, or oxen. 

Tollgates were built every ten, eighteen, or twenty 



256 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



miles. At these gates, toll was charged for each animal 
or vehicle in proportion as it damaged the roadbed. 
Wagons or stages carrying mail or any government prop- 
erty, as military stores and troops, passed the pikes free. 
Clergymen, school children, persons going to or returning 
from places of business, and laborers were likewise 
exempted from paying toll. 

All along the Cumberland Road were found number- 
less taverns which offered hospitality to the throngs of 

^,. travelers that 
came and went 



over this high- 
way. The very 
earliest western 
taverns were 
rude log cabins 
usually contain- 
ing one room. 
Here before the 
huge fireplace 
the travelers were glad to sleep together on the rough 
plank floor. Later, better-built taverns sprang up in great 
numbers. These were frequently two stories high and 
often contained several additions and a veranda. 

The teamsters on the Cumberland Road were a hardy, 
jolly class of people. Their lodging places, or wagon- 
houses, were far more numerous than the coach-taverns, 
and were often only a mile or two apart. These houses 
were plain frame buildings, surrounded by spacious yards, 
great watering troughs, and large barns. 

The kitchen was perhaps the most important feature 
of the tavern. The women of the old West were skillful 
cooks. They knew how to provide their guests with plain 
but savory and nourishing food. In truth, the landlords 




A TAVERN 



WEST TO THE MISSISSIPPI 257 

and landladies of the early taverns were looked upon as 
very important personages indeed. 

Life along the great national road was ever full of stir- 
ring interest. How we should have enjoyed a stage-coach 
journey over the famous track! What interesting sights 
would have been those numberless coach drivers, mail 
carriers, and wagoners ; those thousands and thousands 
of passengers and emigrants who passed over the stately 
stretches of the great National Pike. Coaches, as many 
as twenty or more, followed one another in a single line. 
Dashing mail stages hurried around and away from the 
clouds of dust raised by enormous droves of cattle. Hun- 
dreds of tired horses rested beside their great loads in 
the spacious wagonhouse yards. As many as seventy 
wandering guests were served breakfast in some taverns 
on a single morning. The air resounded with the noise of 
tooting, blasting horns, jingling bells, and creaking, 
crunching wheels. 

The greatest event for the stages and taverns was the 
passage of a president over the road. Special stages were 
built for the occasion. The best horses were chosen and 
the most skillful drivers appointed for the honored task. 

The greatest good of the Cumberland Road was the 
wonderful growth of the Middle West to which it gave 
rise. It was like a great link which bound together the 
two sections of our country, the East and the Middle West. 

But the railroad and the steamboat soon took away 
much of the travel and traffic over the old highway. 
Nevertheless, it is at present attracting thousands of 
tourists. The bells and horns of bicycles and motor cars 
echo and re-echo along its course as once did the blasting 
horns of the old-time stage drivers — the Great National 
Pike is fast once more becoming the foremost of the great 
roadways of the country. 



258 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

Questions for Thought 

1. Compare a land journey in colonial days from New York 
to Philadelphia with one as made at the present time. 

2. Find out all you can about how the planters in the South 
looked for, invited in, and treated with generous hospitality any 
chance traveler. 

3. In what manner do good roads contribute toward the de- 
velopment and the progress of a nation ? 

4. Write in your own words a description of the life of a 
backwoodsman. 

5. How came the pioneers finally to push over the Alleghenies 
through Cumberland Gap into Kentucky? 

6. Write a sketch of Daniel Boone. 

7. Would you like to have accompanied Daniel Boone on his 
first trip to Kentucky? Give reasons for your answer. 

8. What were the chief causes of the Indian hostility toward 
the pioneers of the Middle West? 

9. Compare the Kentucky of Boone's time with the Kentucky 
of our day. 

10. Why did Virginia claim Kentucky and why did the English 
claim the land north of the Ohio ? 

11. Trace on the map Clark's route from Corn Island to 
Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Vincennes. 

12. Why was it comparatively easy for Clark to press into sub- 
mission the French inhabitants of the Northwest Territory. 

13. Find out why the Indians were more kindly inclined toward 
the French than toward the English. 

14. Write in your o\v:i words a paragraph telling how different 
the history and geography of the United States might be if Clark 
had not taken the country north of the Ohio from the British. 

15. Write an account in your own words telling how the Old 
National Pike came to be built. 

16. Find out all you can about Henry Clay. 

17. Trace the Old National Pike, including the old Braddock's 
Road to Vandalia. 

18. Compare a trip over the Old National Pike in the days 
of old with one of today. 

19. Describe an imaginary winter evening in one of the taverns. 

20. Discuss the historical importance of the Old National Pike. 

Selections for Reading 

Pioneers! O Pioneers! — Walt Whitman 
The Settlers— Alfred B. Street 



VIII 



WEST TO THE PACIFIC 

1. JEFFERSON ADDS LOUISIANA TO THE 

UNITED STATES 

On an evening of April in 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte, 
the ambitious ruler of France, was pacing to and fro 
in the marble parlor of the royal castle in Paris. His 
whole bearing showed intense excitement, and he at length 
burst forth: 'T know the 
value of Louisiana. I have 
scarcely won it back from 
Spain by a simple treaty, 
and already I am in danger 
of losing it. But if I must 




NAPOLEON BONAPARTE 



give it up, those who force 
me to do so shall one day 
have reason to be sorry. No ; 
England shall not have the 
Mississippi, which it so cov- 
ets. But we are on the verge 
of war with England. Eng- 
lish warships are sailing the seas in great numbers. My 
fifty thousand troops, sent to colonize Louisiana, are dying 
of disease at Santo Domingo. It will now be an easy task 
for England to enter the Gulf of Mexico and take posses- 
sion of Louisiana. But I shall put Louisiana out of the 
reach of England by selling it to the United States. I 
give it up with regret, but to keep it would mean to lose 
it. Besides, I need money to carry on the war." 

259 



260 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

Far into the night Napoleon thus walked his marble 
floor. Early next morning he called for his secretary and 
asked him what the latest news from London was. 

"England is making rapid preparation for war." 

Napoleon sprang to his feet and again walked the floor 
excitedly. Finally, pausing before his secretary, he said : 
"Go to the American minister, Mr. Livingstone, and tell 
him that we will sell to the United States not only New 
Orleans but the whole of Louisiana. I know that Mr. 
Monroe is on his way with orders from President Jeffer- 
son, but we cannot await his arrival." 

"Why not buy all of Louisiana?" bluntly asked Napo- 
leon's secretary that day of the surprised Livingstone. 

"Buy all of Louisiana!" exclaimed Livingstone in 
astonishment. "New Orleans is all that I asked for." 

"But I offer you the whole province," said the secretary. 

Livingstone returned, "I have not the power." 

The next day Monroe arrived. "We have no time to 
lose," said Napoleon's secretary to the two American 
ministers. "We must make haste, or the English will 
seize New Orleans. What will you pay me for the whole 
of Louisiana?" 

"Fifteen million dollars," answered the Americans. 

"It is yours," returned the Frenchman ; "add it at once 
to your Union. Treat the French living in the territory 
as citizens of the United States." 

Papers of agreement were hastily drawn up in French 
and in English and signed by both parties. Then the 
American ministers, rising, shook hands across the docu- 
ment with the French representative. 

"We have lived long," said Livingstone to Monroe, "and 
have done many things for which our country will remem- 
ber us, but this is the greatest work of our lives." 

When news of the purchase reached America, the 



WEST TO THE PACIFIC 261 

people were at first speechless with surprise. Then wild 
excitement swept the land. "What a bargain !" said some, 
especially the Western pioneers. "What a foolish thing !" 
said others, "Fifteen millions for that wilderness ! Why, 
we have not so much money in our whole country." 

Why did Jefferson wish to buy New Orleans? How 
did it happen that Livingstone and Monroe were in France 
just at the one and only moment in which Napoleon was 
willing to sell Louisiana? 

At the close of the Revolutionary War, the United 
States owned all the land from the Atlantic to the Missis- 
sippi and from Canada to Florida. France had some ten 
years earlier ceded the land west of the Mississippi, as 
also that on the mouth of the river, to Spain. Few 
Americans had yet crossed the Mississippi into this 
Spanish country. They still had all the land they wanted 
where they were. But, though the settlers did not care 
about taking up land west of the river, they nevertheless 
very much dishked their Spanish neighbors. And why? 
Holding the land on both sides of the mouth of the Mis- 
sissippi, Spain was free to allow or not to allow the 
American settlers the use of the mouth of the river for 
the shipping of their products. 

In the fall of 1802, the western pioneers, as usual, 
floated their flatboats down the Mississippi. The barges 
were laden with flour and bacon and ham and tobacco 
and skins, all to be transported from New Orleans to Cuba 
or the Atlantic seaports. But Spain had meanwhile 
secretly made her American possessions between the 
Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains over to France 
in return for some territory in Italy. The Spanish, still 
in authority at New Orleans, therefore made bold to hold 
the mouth of the Mississippi closed for the new owners 
of the province and obstinately refused to let the flatboats 



262 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



pass. All the way up for thousands of miles lay the 
cargoes of the pioneers crowded together. The whole 
West was furious. A backwoods army threatened to 
march against New Orleans at once. 

Jefferson and Congress became seriously alarmed on 
learning that Spain had transferred Louisiana to France. 
France was at the time the foremost nation in Europe, 

and therefore a much more 
dangerous neighbor than 
Spain. Worse still, a war 
between France and Eng- 
land was sure to come. Eng- 
land might easily take Louis- 
iana from France. With 
England, her old enemy, as 
neighbor on the north and 
west, would the United . 
States be able to preserve 
her dearly bought independ- 
ence? 
THOMAS JEFFERSON u-^^^ ^^^ Frcnch must not 

have New Orleans," said Jefferson. "It is our own front 
door, and as such we must own it." He hastily sent 
Monroe with a letter to Livingstone, then the American 
minister in France. "The Mississippi is worth more to 
our Western pioneers than the Hudson, the Delaware, 
and the Potomac, together with all the other navigable 
rivers of the Atlantic seaboard, are to the settlers of the 
East," said Jefferson in his letter. "We must therefore 
purchase New Orleans and as much of the land on either 
side of the mouth of the Mississippi as will secure to the 
United States the free navigation of the river." 

Thus it came about that our ministers were at Paris 
just at the right time to purchase the vast territory of 




WEST TO THE PACIFIC 263 

Louisiana for only fifteen million dollars, which was 
about two cents an acre. This territory included all 
the country lying between the Mississippi river and 
the Rocky Mountains, extending beyond the mountains 
even to the Pacific in the Northwest. It was large enough 
to cut out of it three or four countries the size of France. 
It formed about one-third of the area of our present 
United States. A single business block in any of its larger 
cities of today is worth almost as much as Jefferson paid 
for the whole region. 

Imagine the joy of the western settlers when they 
learned that Louisiana had been bought and that the 
Mississippi from its source to its mouth was theirs to 
use, with never a penny of toll to pay, though they navi- 
gated its entire length. 

The people of the United States, however, knew but 
very httle about this new country. The plucky Captain 
Gray of Boston, who carried our Stars and Stripes around 
the world for the first time, had discovered and explored 
the mouth of the Great River of the West, in 1792, and 
had named it the Columbia in honor of his gallant ship. 
With the finding of the Columbia River, three hundred 
years after the coming of Columbus, America was all 
discovered. But the United States was far from being 
all explored, so the next thing for this nation to do was 
to find out what sort of country Louisiana was. 

2. AN EXPLORING EXPEDITION TO THE FAR WEST 
Part One. Preparations 

Strange stories were told of Louisiana — stories of 
great tractless plains, of gigantic and savage animals; 
of towering mountains so lofty that no man could climb 
them ; and of hostile and powerful Indian nations. For 
hours President Jefferson sat with his young secretary, 



264 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



Meriwether Lewis, discussing these stories. *'No one 
knows where the Missouri rises," said Jefferson one day. 
"Maybe its waters meet those of the Columbia in the 
far-off wilds, and perhaps one can travel by boat from 
the Mississippi to the Pacific." It was the old, old dream 
of a water route through the continent to India. "My 
plan," continued the President, "is to send a company of 

men to follow the Missouri 
to the Pacific Ocean, if pos- 
sible. They are to make 
maps and write descriptions 
of the mountain passes, val- 
leys, rivers, and rapids. They 
are to make notes of the 
kinds of soil, of the plants, 
animals, and minerals. They 
must, above all, make friends 
with the Indians, learn all 
about the habits of the va- 
rious tribes, and thus open 
the way for a rich fur 
trade." 

"Excellent!" exclaimed Lewis. "I am a born back- 
woodsman and love the life of the wilderness. I have 
frequently dealt with the Indians, and am familiar with 
their wild life and savage nature. May I lead that expe- 
dition to the Northwest?" 

"You may, indeed," answered the President. "But you 
ought to have an experienced companion, a man like the 
brave George Rogers Clark." 

' "If I may choose someone to share my command," an- 
swered Lewis quickly, "I would suggest William Clark, 
the brave younger brother of the famous George Rogers." 
To this suggestion Jefferson willingly assented. 




MEEIWETHER LEWIS 



WEST TO THE PACIFIC 265 

Thus it came to pass that the same hand that wrote the 
Declaration of Independence in 1776 drew up, on the 
Fourth of July of 1803, a paper providing Meriwether 
Lewis and William Clark with the power and the means 
to explore the vast unknown country west of the 
Mississippi. 

"If the difficulties become too great, turn back," said 
the anxious Jefferson when parting with his youthful 
friend on the bank of the Potomac. *'In case you should 
reach the Pacific and find it too dangerous to return with 
your party by the way you went, then come back by ship 
around Cape Horn or the Cape of Good Hope." 

But the young Lewis had 
no fears. Waving a parting 
greeting to Jefferson, he 

pushed up the Potomac to r,]cJr^.'m^l^:^:-^■^-:r--^.:--^^s^■l 
the arsenal at Harper's .^^^^:^'^'^1¥^^:^^Sl^¥'-^L 
Ferry. Here he became ^^^^H.^t-^'^^'^Mfl 
busy securing a supply of ror-;:;^^/:/;^^^^^,^;^:^ 
powder and firearms. mulberry hill 

The Clark family had 
meanwhile moved from Virginia to Kentucky and settled 
about three miles south of Louisville. The new home, 
beautifully located and surrounded by a stockade, was 
known as Mulberry Hill. The dwelling was a double log 
house, two and one-half stories high, with a hallway 
through the whole length of it. Here the family lived 
happily. They did not mind the bare walls, rude rafters, 
nor small windows. There was no harpsichord in the 
house, but the busy hum of the spinning wheel was 
pleasant music. The boys would haul in huge logs on 
a hand-sled and build up a bright fire. Then the pewter 
dishes shone like mirrors in the light of the ruddy flames. 
Sometimes George Rogers or Daniel Boone would be 



266 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



there. Then were told thrilling stories of Boonesboro, 
Kaskaskia, Vincennes, and Cahokia. 

William Clark had always as a boy been fond of the 
life of the wilderness. Arrayed in furry cap and fringed 
leather suit, he was ever ready to go hunting with his 
favorite brother, George Rogers, or with Kenton and 

the Boone boys. Imagine the 
eager pleasure with which he 
shot his first buffalo in the 
wilds of the Kentucky woods. 
He even surpassed the In- 
dians in imitating the bark 
of the wolf, the shrill notes 
of the whip-poor-will, or the 
doleful hoot of the owl. At 
thirty years of age, he was 
the most fitting companion 
Lewis could have found for 
his exploration trip. 

In December a party of 
men headed by Meriwether 
Lewis and WiUiam Clark came down the Ohio and halted 
before the old French-Spanish town of St. Louis, then a 
village. They had Intended to ascend the Missouri as far 
as Daniel Boone's home, in what is now Jefferson County, 
which was then the last settlement on the Missouri bor- 
der and the most western habitation of white people at 
the time. But a Spanish soldier, flourishing his sword, 
barred their way up the Missouri. The Spanish governor 
declared that he would not permit strangers to pass 
through French territory until he should have received 
official notice that Louisiana really belonged to the United 
States. Hence Lewis and Clark had no other choice but 
to go into winter camp opposite the mouth of the Missouri, 
where they had to remain until spring. 




WILLIAM CLARK 



WEST TO THE PACIFIC 267 

The mails traveled but slowly in those days, and the 
Spanish governor at New Orleans had not yet been in- 
formed by the proper authorities that Louisiana had been 
ceded to the United States, though the purchase of the 
territory by Monroe and Livingstone had been accepted 
by the United States as early as July Fourth. Besides, 
Spain was greatly enraged against Napoleon for selling 
Louisiana. But she could do no more than threaten and 
delay. At length, in December, the old Spanish town of 
New Orleans lowered the flag of France, and in its place 
was raised the star-spangled banner. 

When the news reached St. Louis that it now belonged 
to the United States, the Spanish flag was lowered and 
the French banner raised to float until evening. It was 
greeted with loud cheers by the Creole inhabitants. "Let 
it fly all night," they begged at twihght. All night long 
the lilies of France floated over St. Louis. But that was 
the last day of that nation in North America. The next 
morning the French flag was lowered and in its stead the 
flag of the United States was unfurled over the new 
territory. 

Part Two. Up the Missouri from St. Louis to Fort Mandan 

On a sunny May morning of 1804, Lewis and Clark 
were ready to start out upon their great journey up the 
unknown Missouri into the unknown West. Three boats 
lay waiting on the east bank of the Mississippi just 
below the mouth of the Missouri. The largest boat, the 
pride of the expedition, had been built at Pittsburgh. It 
was fifty-five feet long, with two half decks and twenty- 
two oars at the row locks. The two other boats, secured 
at St. Louis, were smaller. 

In these boats were stored food, arms, ammunition, 
richly laced uniforms, medals, flags, knives, tomahawks, 



268 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

barrels of beads, paints, looking-glasses, bright colored 
blankets ; also such small conveniences as candles, writing 
material, and mosquito bar. The goodly outfit also in- 
cluded a compass, a thermometer, a barometer, and a 
bottle of phosphorus, with a supply of small sulphur- 
tipped sticks. The sticks, dipped in the phosphorus before 
using, were to serve as matches, for the match had not yet 
been invented. 

There were over thirty men in the company. Among 
them was Clark's faithful negro slave York. Each man 
carried a knife, pistol, knapsack, pouch of ammunition, 
an ink horn, and a quill pen. Everybody was advised to 
keep a journal. "Not a day without a line," was the order. 
Lewis and Clark knew that a line written on the spot 
was worth more than whole pages filled later. The note 
books, when filled, were to be soldered into water-tight 
cans. 

At the command, "All aboard !" by Captain Lewis, the 
three boats swung away from the east bank of the Missis- 
sippi and pushed up the Missouri. Heavy June rains 
had set in and the muddy Missouri went whirling and 
foaming and tearing along, just as, one hundred and 
thirty years earlier, Father Marquette and Joliet had 
seen it pour its muddy waters into the Mississippi. 
Only in mid-stream were the voyagers safe. Again 
and again the boats were almost turned over by drifts 
of fallen trees. Poles and oars broke and splintered; 
masts fell. 

Small bands of fur traders came plunging down-stream 
in canoes and on rafts well laden with peltries. These 
swift-gliding boats seemed like sights of another world 
into which Lewis and Clark were about to enter. A thou- 
sand miles up-stream against the current our explorers 
fought their way. Warmer and warmer grew the weather. 



WEST TO THE PACIFIC 



269 




270 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

The men suffered much from the heat, some from sun- 
stroke, others from inflamed eyes caused by the reflection 
of the sun's rays upon the water. Swarms of mosquitoes 
clouded the air. 

At the mouth of the Kansas River, on the present site 
of Kansas City, the party stopped for a rest. They 
stretched their weary Hmbs and slept so well that neither 
the cry of the whip-poor-will nor even the howl of the 
wolf could startle them out of their dreams. 

The water gradually fell, and on the 21st day of July 
the company sailed with a fair wind past the mouth 
of the Great Platte River and onward a little farther 
north to the mouth of the Nehawka, or Weeping Water 
River, which marked the boundary between the Otoe and 
Omaha Indians, two tribes constantly at war with each 
other. 

On they went past great groves of oak and hickory, 
of walnut, ash, and buckeye which lined the banks of the 
river. The elk and deer were numerous. Strange and 
beautiful birds flitted about in great numbers. Coming 
to the site of our present Omaha, they landed on the 
opposite bank. Here, where Council Bluffs is now located, 
Lewis and Clark assembled the chiefs of the Otoe tribe 
and told them that they now belonged to their Great 
American Father, the President at Washington, who 
begged all the tribes to live in peace with one another. 
The chiefs then declared that they were satisfied with 
the change of government and promised to make peace 
with their enemies, the Omahas. 

The captains also gave the Otoes medals and papers 
with greetings from Thomas Jefferson. "When you look 
at these," said they to the Indians, "remember that your 
great American Father bids you above all not to make 
war on other Indian tribes." A half century later the 



WEST TO THE PACIFIC 271 

Otoes showed at Nebraska City these very papers given 
them by Lewis and Clark. During all their wanderings 
of many years they had preserved them tied up between 
flat pieces of bark. 

After their council with the Otoes, the explorers en- 
tered also the country of the Omaha Indians. To their 
surprise, they found only graves and the ruins of former 
villages. Ascending a hill, they planted a flag on the 
grave of the dead chief Blackbird. This chief had been 
one of the most powerful rulers of the Omahas, who had 
once been a nation of warriors feared by even the most 
savage of Indian tribes. Stricken by smallpox, Blackbird 
himself and half of his people died. The rest of the tribe 
set fire to their villages and fled in terror. But before 
leaving they entombed their chief Blackbird sitting up- 
right on his horse, that he might, as they said, "watch the 
traders coming and going." 

It was in the country of the Omahas that the first 
sorrow came to the explorers. Young Sergeant Floyd, 
having become overheated, lay down on a sandbar to cool 
off. He became ill suddenly and died in a few hours. 
Sorrowfully the men laid his body at rest on the beautiful 
height now known as Floyd's Bluff. On a cedar post near 
by they carved the name of their youthful comrade. 
Sioux City has since grown up around Floyd's Bluff, and 
a magnificent monument now marks the burial place of 
the young explorer, the first United States soldier to bo 
buried beyond the Mississippi. 

Moving on, the explorers passed the mouth of the Big 
Sioux River. Some distance up the course of this stream 
are found the famous pipestone quarries. All the Indian 
tribes, even those on the warpath, came unmolested to 
these quarries to fashion their peace-pipes from the 
beautiful reddish rock. 



272 



OVR COUNTRY IN STORY 



"And in silence all the warriors 
Broke the red stone of the quarry, 
Smoothed and formed it into Peace-Pipes, 
Broke the long reeds by the river, 
Decked them with their brightest feathers, 
And departed each one homeward." 

Some distance beyond the mouth of the Big Sioux, the 
party came one day, toward the end of August, upon what 
seemed to be a low island covered with great moving 
drifts of snow. "Pelicans! Pelicans!" cried one of the 
hunters in the company. The beautiful creatures were 
fishing in the muddy waters of the river, but speedily 

took to flight when the voy- 
agers drew near. Two of 
the birds, however, were 
brought down. 

"What a splendid speci- 
men!" exclaimed Lewis, ex- 
amining his bird. *Tt 
measures all of six feet from 
one wing tip to the other. 
Look at this enormous pouch 

PELICAN ^jgiQ^ ^j^g ^-11 J j^ jg ^ug^ 

with fish! Let us measure it." Out came the fish, 
and busy hands dipped quart after quart of water until 
over two gallons had been emptied into the great 
pouch. 

"Buffalo! Buffalo!" shouted the men, a little later, in 
wild excitement. A great surging herd of the shaggy 
animals was browsing near by, and the party halted for 
a day's grand hunt. 

The wanderers were now nearing the land of the Da- 
kotas, the country of the terrible Sioux Indians. These 
Indians were wilder, more cunning, and more bloodthirsty 
than the most ferocious of the western Indian tribes, 




WEST TO THE PACIFIC 273 

excepting, perhaps, the Blackfeet, who dwelt farther west. 
They were the kings of the hunting grounds, forever 
carrying away horses, scalps, and helpless women and 
children. Everywhere, from the Red River of the North 
to the Red River in Texas, their dog trains dragged back 
and forth. They scalped and often flayed and burned alive 
any Indian who ventured to cross their path. They might 
well have been called the pirates of the streams and the 
wilderness trails. There was scarcely a lake or a stream 
between the Mississippi and the Rockies which at some 
time v/as not colored with the blood they shed. 

At Yankton, near the mouth of the James River, Clark 
and Lewis raised the flag under the Calumet Bluff's and 
invited the savage Sioux to a council. With dignified step 
the chieftains came, gorgeously painted and dressed in 
robes trimmed with porcupine quills. They wore eagle 
plumes upon their heads and strings of bears' claws about 
their necks. Their pipestone calumets were a yard or more 
in length and were decorated with bright feathers. 

"And they stood there on the meadow, 
With their weapons and their war-gear 
Painted like the leaves of autumn, 
Painted like the sky of morning." 

The captains told the chiefs the same thing they had 
told the Otoes. Hereupon one of them extended his long 
peace-pipe toward heaven, toward the east, west, north, 
and south, and lastly toward the earth. He then made a 
great speech in which he declared that the Sioux were 
willing to come under American rule. He begged that the 
white men might send them traders who would bring 
clothes and firearms. The captains gave the chiefs pres- 
ents and then departed, grateful for the peaceful outcome 
of this council with the dread Sioux. 

More and more numerous became the buff'alo. Herds 



274 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



of antelope, shy, beautiful creatures, sped away before the 
voyagers, as fleet as birds on the wing. In vain did Lewis 
try to shoot one. Before long, however, the explorers 
learned that the antelope was a very curious animal. If 
the hunter would place a showy cloth or a hat on a stick 
and lie down quietly near it, the antelope would return 
and keep alternately approaching and running back, until 
it finally drew near enough to be reached with the rifle. 




DECOYING THE ANTELOPE 



On one of their hunting trips the explorers came to a 
spot all covered with tiny mounds. Suddenly they heard 
a few quick, sharp barks, then saw hundreds of little crea- 
tures disappear noiselessly into the earth. Nothing could 
force them out of their underground houses. The men 
worked for hours pouring whole barrels of water into 
one hole. Only one of the little animals was captured. 
It had a squirrel-like head and soft, silky hair. The men 
had seen for the first time a prairie dog. 

On the present site of Pierre, in South Dakota, the 
party came upon another band of Sioux Indians. But 
these proved less friendly than those met farther down 
the river. When the council was over and Lewis and 



WEST TO THE PACIFIC 275 

Clark had pushed out from the shore, one Indian held 
Clark's boat by the rope while Chief Black Buffalo ad- 
vanced to seize the captain and carry him away. Lewis 
hated to use force, though there really seemed to be no 
other choice. "Black Buffalo," said Clark, finally, "you 
claim that you are a great chief. Prove it by letting go 
our ropes." Flattered by this remark, the chief and his 
men obeyed. Lewis and Clark promptly pulled out and 
hastily steered up-stream, glad to be rid of these annoying 
and treacherous Indians. 

Toward the last of October the river became so low 
that the men were often obliged to wade through the 
water, tugging and pulling the boats after them. Later, 
the river froze over and the ice began to be most trouble- 
some. Fortunately, the explorers were now in the land 
of the Mandans. These Indians were a friendly nation 
who lived in little towns of mud huts surrounded by fields 
of corn, beans, squashes, and sunflowers. The captains 
decided to spend the winter here, on the right bank of 
the river, directly opposite the site of the present flourish- 
ing city of Bismarck, North Dakota. 

The head chief of the Mandans, Black Cat, with his 
warriors, met the white captains in council. Promises of 
friendship were made and the peacepipe was handed 
around. The hospitable Mandan women served their white 
visitors with hominy and other garden stuffs, well cooked 
in earthen pots. Lewis and Clark distributed suits of 
clothes, laced uniforms, cocked hats, and colored plumes 
among the chiefs. An iron coffee-mill was given to the 
women that they might grind their corn in it instead of 
pounding it into meal between two stones, as they were 
accustomed to do. All day long the happy Mandan women 
ground and ground away, surprised to see themselves 
making meal with so little labor. 



276 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

Part Three. A Winter at Fort Mandan 
Winter was fast coming on, and that in a climate 
where the thermometer dropped forty degrees below zero. 
Lewis and Clark at the head of their little party became 
very busy. The tall cottonwood trees were cut down 
and used to build warm log cabins. These cabins stood 
side by side in the form of the letter V. A stockade with 
a strong gate closed the rear end of the triangle. The 
doors and windows all opened toward the center of the 
enclosed space. The chinks between the logs were filled 
in and the chimneys plastered with mud; the windows 
were curtained with deerskin. Within the enclosed 
space were erected sheds in which to store food and all 
sorts of specimens collected on the way. 

Every day the Indians crowded curiously about to 
watch the buildings going up. In the evening they fed 
their horses with the cottonwood branches that had been 
stripped from the timber, and then returned home. 

By the middle of November the cabins and stockade, 
called Fort Mandan, were finished. The weather grew 
very cold, but our hardy explorers had nothing to fear. 
They had jerked and hung away in the winter smoke- 
house hundreds and hundreds of pounds of deer and 
buffalo meat. During the long winter nights they were 
snug and warm, rolled up in their blankets and shaggy 
buffalo skins. One thousand six hundred miles stretched 
between Fort Mandan and St. Louis. Daily Lewis and 
Clark had written in their journals noling all the happen- 
ings and faithfully describing the country, the animals, 
and the plants. They now became very busy re-writing 
their reports on clean sheets of paper and re-drawing the 
maps of the country through which they had passed. 
They sorted and labeled their specimens and mounted the 
animals they had caught. 



WEST TO THE PACIFIC 277 

Christmas came, the first celebrated on the upper Mis- 
souri. The stars and stripes, floating nobly above the rude 
palisade, was saluted with a volley of musketry. Dried 
apples, corn, beans, squash, buffalo meat, spices, and bones 
filled with marrow made, on the whole, a most delicious 
Christmas feast. Not an Indian ventured near. Fort 
Mandan was a mystery to the redmen that Christmas 
day. "Today is the white man's great medicine day," said 
they. 

The Mandans found much to interest them at the fort. 
When two of the white men set up their forges as black- 
smiths, the Indian women came to the fort in processions, 
even when the thermometer showed forty degrees below 
zero. They brought all their old broken kettles to be 
mended. The men wanted arrows, tomahawks, and axes. 
All the work thus done for the Indians was paid for with 
generous supplies of corn. 

A favorite visitor at Fort Mandan was a young Indian 
woman with her baby boy. Captured beyond the Rocky 
Mountains five years previous, she was sold by her Indian 
captors to a Frenchman who married her. She was called 
Sacajawea, which translated means Bird Woman. Saca- 
jawea was a bright young woman and of a gentle, 
faithful disposition. Since she knew the languages of 
the Indian tribes beyond the mountains, Lewis and Clark 
decided to take her along with them when they would 
continue their journey in spring. 

One morning the Indians came running to Fort Mandan 
crying excitedly, "The buffalo! The buffalo!" Away 
flew the redmen on their horses. Away galloped the white 
men after them. Up the river the hunters went, and gave 
chase to an immense herd of buffalo. Load after load of 
meat was carried home on the horses' backs and hung in 
the storehouse. Day after day with the thermometer 



278 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



marking twenty degrees below zero, with two suns in the 
sky, and with brilHant northern Hghts in the evening, the 
hunters were out to chase the shaggy animals. 

March came; scattered flocks of ducks, swans, and 
geese were seen flying northward, a sign that spring was 
coming. And now our explorers became very busy pre- 
paring for their onward journey. From morning till night 
the blows of axes and hammers could be heard. The old 




boats were lifted out of the water and repaired. Six new, 
lighter canoes were made. 

In strong wooden boxes were packed horns of the moun- 
tain ram and of the elk and deer, all sorts of skins and 
furs, Indian clothes, bows and arrows, numerous speci- 
mens of earths, minerals, plants, seeds and insects ; stuffed 
antelopes and their skeletons, a stuffed weasel, a prairie 
dog, three Rocky Mountain squirrels, and Lewis's fine 
pelican; the skeletons of a prairie dog, a white and a 
gray hare, a badger, two burrowing squirrels, and a white 
weasel. A live prairie hen, four magpies, and a prairie 
dog were imprisoned in wicker cages. The whole novel 
collection was securely stored in the largest of the three 



WEST TO THE PACIFIC 279 

boats. In with this storage went a pack of interesting 
letters to relatives and friends, also Lewis's report to 
Jefferson and Congress. 

At length on a Sunday afternoon of early April in 1805, 
the large boat with all its treasures and ten men on board 
turned its keel down the Missouri. 

Part Four. From Fort Mandan Up the Missouri to Its 
Three Forks 

At the same moment that the large boat set out down- 
stream, the two captains and their party started out up- 
stream with the two other boats and six small canoes. 
Sacajawea with her babe, accompanied by her husband, 
now the cook of the party, went along. 

The large boat reached St. Louis in safety, and from 
here its reports, letters, and specimens were sent to their 
various destinations. President Jefferson was less troubled 
now that he knew the party had lived safe through the 
winter and was once more on its way up the Missouri. The 
collection of rare specimens was much valued by the 
scholarly Jefferson and was long on exhibit at Monticello. 

Hopefully the explorers paddled up the Missouri. The 
spring air was often sharp and chilly with now and then 
a light snow-fall on the sprouting and budding vegetation 
but before long the weather became very warm. In the 
region where the Mouse River rises and flows on into 
Canada they saw great flocks of wild geese which built 
their nests high up in the branches of the cottonwood 
trees. Bald eagles were remarkably numerous on this 
part of the Missouri, also magpies, which always built 
their nests close to those of the eagles. The hills were 
bare with only here and there a patch of wild sage or a 
clump of juniper bushes and dwarfed cedars. 

On passed our explorers farther up the Missouri, 



280 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

through rolHng prairies and towering highlands. Every 
now and then they camped on a favorable spot, swinging 
their axes where axes had never been swung and build- 
ing their fires where fires had never been kindled by 
white ^men. Fine buffalo steaks and savory brown ribs 
fried and crackled over the flames of the campfires, and 
now and then Lewis would make some plump, light dump- 
lings. Sacajawea, carrying her babe on her back, dug 
into gopher holes for artichokes which served instead of 
potatoes. The negro York gathered water cress and 
other greens. 

At close of day the captains and others of the party 
would sit about the fire and record the day's happenings. 
Finally, everybody would roll up in his blanket and with 
feet to the fire fall asleep, unmindful of the high Dakota 
winds roaring through the trees, or the howling of wolves. 
One man always kept watch through the night. 

For whole days at a time the explorers passed along 
bare veins of burning coal which had probably been 
kindled by Indian fires. They passed many empty wig- 
wams and deserted villages but saw no Indians, for they 
had gone to the plains to hunt. 

Toward the end of April the party came to the mouth 
of the Yellowstone, a very clear, beautiful stream flowing 
through fertile plains. Here they met with great herds of 
elk, buffalo, and antelope, so tame that they had to be 
driven out of the way to let the travelers pass. Only the 
deer were shy. Geese abounded; also bald eagles. The 
captains named a bold, beautiful stream, flowing into the 
Missouri from the north. Porcupine River. It is now 
marked Poplar on our maps. On this stream were found 
many beaver dams. The industrious little colony of beav- 
ers had in some places gnawed down many acres of timber, 
sometimes felling trees three feet in diameter. 



WEST TO THE PACIFIC 281 

A strong May wind filled the sails and carried the boats 
west. Everywhere the elk and buffalo roamed the land in 
herds of thousands. Large numbers of porcupine fed on 
undisturbed while the white men walked among them. 
Mountain sheep bounded across the cliffs. The wild-cat, 
the mountain lion, and the coyote snarled savagely after 
the white intruders. Vast meadows of clover and timothy, 
and great fields of wild rice stretched away on every side. 
The underbrush swarmed with prairie fowl. Swans, geese, 
and ducks sported in the lakes and streams which were 
alive with mountain trout. There were whole fields of 
blooming roses, lilies, honeysuckles, morning-glories, and 
hops. Strawberries covered the hills like a carpet. The 
country seemed like a great wild paradise. 

Toward the end of May, Lewis, climbing to the highest 
hill on the north bank of the river, caught the first glimpse 
of the great mountain range of the West. He called the 
noble heights Rocky Mountains. Bold and bolder grew the 
river banks. The course of the Missouri became more and 
more irregular. The current was so rapid and so deep that 
neither oars nor poles could be used. With ropes about 
their shoulders, the men pulled the boats up-stream, strug- 
gling along the banks through mud, icy water, and over 
sharp and rugged rocks. They lost their moccasins in the 
sticky clay and cut their feet on the sharp rocks. 

*Ts this the country of your people?" asked Lewis of 
Sacajawea. 

"No, not of the Shoshones," said she, her face blanch- 
ing. "Here Blackfeet come from way up to shoot and 
scalp my people when they come here to hunt the buffalo." 
Well might Sacajawea grow pale. The Blackfeet were 
savage indeed, even more so than the Iroquois in New 
York or the Sioux to the east of the Rocky Mountains. 
They were the scourge of the Western Mountains. 



282 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



It was therefore time for our friends to hasten on. The 
explorers now entered a region which has since become 
known as the natural wonder of the West. For miles and 
miles valley succeeded valley. Between these valleys of 

wonderful beauty rose hills 
and cliffs of white sandstone. 
Sheer from the river's bank 
they towered hundreds of 
feet toward the clear, blue 
summer sky. 

Passing out of this charm- 
ing wonderland, the explor- 
ers entered upon a more level 
country and at length, on 
June 3, came to a point where 
the river divides. "Which is 
the true Missouri? Which 
of these branches shall we 
now follow?" the explorers 
asked one another. 

The waters of the north- 
ern branch tumbled along 
dull and muddy, while those 
of the southern branch 
flowed clear as crystal along a pebbly bed. It was decided 
to explore each division a short distance, Lewis taking 
the northern and Clark the southern. 

"This leads too far north," said Lewis after he had gone 
some distance up the muddy current. He returned to the 
fork of the river, where he found Clark. The two cap- 
tains agreed to continue their journey up the southern 
stream. 

But before leaving this fork of the Missouri, a deep 
kettle-like hole was dug. The earth was carefully carried 




SACAJAWEA 



WEST TO THE PACIFIC 283 

away in skins and dumped into the river. The bottom of 
the hole was covered with dry sticks and the entire space 
lined with dried skins. In this hole, or cache, were de- 
posited powder, flour, tools — whatever could be spared. 
Another robe was placed over the entire storage, then the 
earth was packed in tight and the sod closely fitted so that 
no Indian might detect the place. One of the boats brought 
from St. Louis was drawn up on a small island at the 
mouth of Maria's River and there hidden in a clump of 
brush. 

Captain Lewis with four of his men went on ahead. The 
mountains rose higher than ever. Range towered above 
range, the most distant peaks reaching into the clouds. 
Lewis pressed on faster and faster, leaving his compan- 
ions far behind. 

"So he journeyed westward, westward, 
Left the fleetest deer behind him, 
Left the antelope and bison; 
Passed the mountains of the prairie, 
Passed the land of Crows and Foxes, 
Passed the dwellings of the Blackfeet, 
Came unto the Rocky Mountains, 
To the kingdom of the West-Wind." 

One day in the middle of June, Lewis heard a loud roar- 
ing noise and saw rising in the distance great clouds of 
vapor. Hastening on he soon looked upon the Great Falls 
of the Missouri; he gazed in silent wonder upon the 
mighty waterfall, which, hidden here in the wilderness 
from the eyes of civilized man, had leaped down its 
rocky way for ages. Joined by his companions, Lewis 
walked on for ten miles. Three succeeding cataracts 
plunged from rock to rock over a depth of four hun- 
dred feet. 

The Great Falls of the Missouri seemed the gathering 
place of all the wild animals of the country. Captain 



284 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 




CAPTAIN LEWIS VIEWING THE FALLS OF THE MISSOURI 



WEST TO THE PACIFIC 285 

Clark says in his journal that at one time he must have 
seen at least as many as ten thousand buffalo in one herd. 
The clumsy creatures crowded along the steep, rocky paths 
and often awkwardly pushed each other into the water. 
Hundreds of them were thus carried away and dashed 
down the cataract to feed whole packs of bears and wolves 
below. 

The party now prepared to carry the boats and baggage 
around the falls. Wagons were made for the purpose. 
For wheels they cut cross sections from a fine cottonwood 
trunk. The masts of the white boat, the last of the three 
brought from St. Louis, were used as axles. The boat 
itself was concealed in a copse of willows. 

A whole month was thus spent in making wagons and 
hauling the boats and baggage around the Falls, a distance 
of eighteen miles. With great difficulty the men dragged 
their heavy loads up rocky heights, through dense woods, 
and over rough buffalo paths. Prickly pears, a sort of 
cactus, cut through the moccasins of the men and sorely 
wounded their feet. Often the men dropped exhausted 
to the ground. 

Many were the trials the little company had to endure. 
An island close to the camp was fairly crowded with 
grizzly bears whose growling and restless movements 
never ceased day or night. One evening the hungry ani- 
mals came close to the camp and carried off some buffalo 
meat. A worse annoyance perhaps than the grizzlies was 
the swarms of mosquitoes which sometimes were so 
numerous that they darkened the air. 

One day there was a sudden cloud-burst and the men 
had to retreat in haste before the flood which rose fifteen 
feet in a very short time. The rain was followed by a hail 
storm. The icy stones were so large and were driven so 
swiftly by the wind that many of the men were badly 
wounded and even thrown to the ground by them. 



286 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

Lewis and Clark were glad to find that the water above 
the falls was still deep enough for boats. Two new boats, 
hollowed out of cottonwood trunks, were made, and on 
July 15 the explorers again set out up the Missouri in 
eight canoes. 

"The Shoshones ! My people !" cried Sacajawea joyfully 
one day when the party came upon burnt-out campfires. 
"See," she continued, pointing to the pines stripped of 
their bark, "They were hungry last winter. There were 
no buffalo, and so the Shoshones had nothing to eat but 
the tender wood which lies beneath the bark of the pine 
tree." 

With the flag flying, the canoes passed through the 
mighty gap cut by the Missouri through the mountains 
in western Montana. "The river will soon branch off in 
three forks," said Sacajawea. And so it was. On July 
25 the party reached the three forks of the Missouri. 

"What a splendid camping place," said Lewis. "Let us 
rest here for a few days." 

No better camping place could have been found for 
the tired explorers to make new leather suits or repair 
their old buckskin clothes. Birds of beautiful plumage 
flitted about in great numbers. Sunflowers, buffalo clover, 
wild peas, and wild beans bloomed everywhere. Numer- 
ous beavers, otters, and muskrats made the country a 
trapper's paradise. All the Indian trails in the country 
seemed to cross each other here. "On this very spot my 
people camped five years ago," said Sacajawea. "Here 
you can still see the traces of their campfires." 

The branch to the west, the real Missouri, was named 
for President Jefferson; the middle branch for Madison, 
the Secretary of State; and the third for Gallatin, the 
Secretary of the Treasury. On July 30, the explorers 
pushed up the Jefferson River toward its source. "Here 



WEST TO THE PACIFIC 287 

I was captured," cried Sacajawea at noon of that day when 
the party landed for dinner. "Our men fled away on their 
horses. The women and children ran to hide, and I was 
caught just when crossing this river." 

The Jefferson River gradually became smaller and 
smaller. On the first days of August the explorers knelt 
for a cool, clear drink on the brink of a rivulet forming 
the source of the great Missouri. One of the men, plant- 
ing a foot on either side of the mountain rivulet exclaimed, 
"God be thanked that we have lived to bestride the great 
Missouri, lived to see the beginning of the mighty stream 
which, three thousand miles down its winding course, 
pours its waters into the Mississippi." Father Marquette's 
dream, when gazing for the first time upon the turbulent 
mouth of the Missouri, had become real — the great water- 
way had been traced from its mouth to its source ; a route 
had been opened to the Far West for the missionary, the 
trader, the miner, and the home-builder. 

Part Five. From the Three Forks of the Missouri to 
THE Banks of the Columbia 

The explorers were sorry to leave the famous three 
forks of the Missouri, but they were most anxious to look 
upon the source of a stream tributary to that other great 
river which flowed to the Pacific Ocean. They knew that 
this other great river must rise on the opposite slope of 
the same height of land which gave rise to the Missouri. 
But they were in great need of guides to show them the 
way, and also of horses to carry their baggage. Captain 
Lewis, therefore, with a few of his men, hastened ahead 
in the hope of meeting some Indians. Following a trail, 
he came to the top of a ridge which forms the height of 
land dividing the source waters of a stream flowing into 
the Atlantic and the head waters of a river flowing into 



288 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



the Pacific Ocean. For the first time white men stood on 
the great divide or watershed of the North American 
Continent. 

Descending the steep western slope, Lewis came to a 
creek of clear, cold water running to the westward. This 
stream is now known as the Lemhi River. It forms the 
source of the Salmon River. The Salmon flows into the 
Snake; the Snake, joined by the Clearwater, forms one 




THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE 



of the two principal head tributaries of the Columbia. 
Around a fire built of dry willow brush, Lewis and his 
companions slept that night in what is now Idaho. 
Traveling along a well-worn Indian trail, they later came 
upon two Indian women, who, won over by presents, 
finally consented to lead the men to their village. These 
Indians were Shoshones, or Snake Indians. The chiefs 
received Lewis and his men very kindly. One of them 
invited him to his lodge and there treated him with a 
piece of salmon. Salmon being found only in the waters 
tributary to the Pacific, Lewis was now certain that he 
had discovered the head waters of a river flowing to this 



WEST TO THE PACIFIC 289 

ocean. The chief provided the white men with horses, 
and, accompanied by a number of his Indians, rode back 
with them to bring Clark and the rest of the party with 
the baggage. 

When the two bands met, the captains called a council 
of the Indians. "Bring Sacajawea," said Lewis, "that 
she may interpret for us." 

When Sacajawea saw the chief she uttered a cry of joy 
and flew toward him. He was her brother. After exchang- 
ing a few sentences with him, she returned to her seat and 
did the interpreting for the two parties, often pausing to 
wipe away or hold back her tears. Through her Lewis 
and Clark told the chief that they were going to the far 
ocean. "We are making a road for the traders," said 
Lewis. 

"This makes Indian happy," returned the chief. "But 
white men cannot travel across the mountains. Seven 
days over sheer mountains. Nothing but roots to eat, no 
game, no fish. A river of high rocks. The Snake River is 
wild, all foam. No man, no horse can cross. High rocky 
walls a hundred feet high on the sides. No man can walk 
along the bank. We never travel that way." 

But Lewis and Clark said : "If we cannot sail the Snake 
River to the Columbia, can we not ride over the mountains 
that line its banks ? If the enemies of the Shoshones can 
travel over these highlands, why cannot we ?" 

The Shoshones lived in great terror of other Indian 
tribes, some of whom had received guns from the British 
traders and often came down like savage wolves upon the 
poor Shoshones whose only weapons were bows and 
arrows. But the Shoshones possessed very fine horses. 
Many of these had Spanish brands upon them. They had 
once belonged to the herds of noble steeds reared in the 
California mission rancherias. Traded or stolen from 



290 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



tribe to tribe, or captured wild, these fine horses became 
the pride of the Indian nations on the upper Columbia. 

It was horses like these — docile and sure-footed, used to 
the pack and the saddle — that Lewis and Clark wanted. 
Now, the Shoshones wanted knives and hatchets very 
badly. They had thus far been obliged to split their wood 
with elk-horns and mallets made of stone. So from all the 




WILD HORSES DESCENDED FROM THE NOBLE STEEDS OF THE OLD CALIFORNIA 

MISSIONS 



valleys of their country the Shoshones gathered their best 
horses and traded them off for knives and tomahawks. 

An old Indian whom Clark called Toby offered to guide 
the exploring party across the mountains. Unseen by the 
Indians the heavy baggage was now stored away at night 
in a cache at the head of the Jefferson; the canoes were 
sunk to the bottom of the river. On the last day of August 
our heroes at length set out westward on horseback in 
search of the Great River of the West which would carry 
them to the Pacific Ocean. With them rode the Indian 
guides, Toby and his four sons, and also Sacajawea with 
her husband and babe. 



WEST TO THE PACIFIC 291 

The explorers traveled along a difficult route leading 
across the Bitterroot Mountains, our northern Idaho of 
today. The first part of their way lay 'along the Lemhi 
River. Up ahead in a hollow of the mountains they came 
upon a party of Flathead Indians camping. The redmen 
looked with wonder upon the faces of the strangers. 
"These men are cold, their faces are frozen white," said 
they. A great fire was built. Blankets and furs were 
brought by the kind-hearted Flatheads. Late into the 
night the white men sat with the chiefs about the fire, 
smoking the peacepipe. 

It was almost impossible to converse with these Indians, 
even with Sacajawea as interpreter; for the Flatheads 
spoke a strange guttural language which sounded very 
much like the clucking of a fowl or the noise of a parrot. 
But they were kind and friendly, and gladly shared their 
small store of food — berries and roots — with the stran- 
gers. Lewis and Clark gave them medals and flags, which 
made the good Flatheads very happy. They never forgot 
the visit of these first white men, and to this day no Flat- 
head ever killed a white man. 

The next day the explorers took a northwesterly course. 
They cut their way through thickets of brush, pushed 
through dense woods, crossed deep ravines, and scaled 
steep and rocky mountains. Some of the horses slipped 
and fell down the rocky slopes. Others became crippled 
and worn out. Taking the clumsy pack-saddles upon 
their backs, the men trudged limping and stumbhng 
along. Thorns and briers tore their clothes and cut their 
flesh. Worst of all, game became more and more scarce. 
Soon horse meat became their only food and the flesh of 
dogs was considered a welcome change of diet. 

Ever onward straight across Idaho, the brave little party 
struggled. They came at last to the Lolo Trail, a famous 



292 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

well-worn Indian path. Over this trail went the north- 
western redmen to battle and to the buffalo hunt on the 
Missouri. Down over this trail went Lewis and Clark with 
their famished companions. Descending the last of the 
Bitterroot Mountains, they reached a level country — they 
were at last over the Great Divide. 

Where the Clearwater River forms a fork with the 
Snake, our heroes came upon a village of Nez Perces In- 
dians. Everywhere the women were digging the camas 
root, a bulb somewhat resembling the sweet potato in 
taste. At the sight of the white men the root diggers 
fled in fright, and the children hid away in the bushes. 
"Kill these pale-faced strangers," whispered the alarmed 
Nez Perces warriors. 

"No, no ; do not touch them," pleaded a Nez Perces girl 
who lay dying in her tent. "Go to meet them. They are 
good people." The poor girl had once been carried away 
by a war party of Indians to a distant eastern country. 
There she met white people who were kind to her. Home- 
sick for the land of her childhood, she finally escaped and 
fled away in the direction of the Nez Perces country. 
Picked up on the way by a party of her people, she was 
brought home over the Lolo Trail to die. 

Reassured by her words the Nez Perces welcomed the 
tired and hungry strangers and gave them food. The cap- 
tains told the Nez Perces of their great Father at Wash- 
ington and made them presents of medals and showy 
clothes. The Indians were much pleased. Even to this 
day the Nez Perces tell the story of how the dying Indian 
maiden had made them the friends of the white men. 

Beyond the mouth of the Clearwater River, the Snake 
was navigable. The captains and their companions conse- 
quently spent the early days of October in preparing for 
the descent of the river. . Canoes were made by hollowing 



WEST TO THE PACIFIC 



293 



out tree trunks. The saddles and some powder were 
buried. The horses were branded and given into the care 
of the Nez Perces. Then the party set out in the new 
boats on their voyage to the sea. 

With joyful hearts the young explorers sped through 
wild and interesting regions. At length, on the sixteenth 
of October, they passed from the waters of the Snake 
River into the wide, blue current of the Columbia. 




XKZ I'KliCK.S JXIIlANS 



With happy hearts they pitched their tents on the banks 
of the Great River for a short rest. Soon the sound of 
drums and shouting voices was heard, and a procession 
of about two hundred Indians came marching toward 
camp. Gathered in a semicircle around the white men 
they bade them a hearty welcome. A chief of the Nez 
Perces had brought these redmen the last words of the 
dying Indian girl — "Do not fear the white men. Be kind to 
them." In this way the explorers were introduced from 
tribe to tribe all the way down the Columbia. 



294 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

Pait Six. Down the Columbia to the Pacific 

It seemed as though all the Indians of the Far West 
had flocked to the banks of the Columbia even as the sav- 
ages of the Middle West had at one time come down upon 
the frontier stations of Kentucky. But the Indians of the 
Columbia were peaceable. They had come hither for the 
salmon fishing. Whole schools of the fish could be seen 
lying twenty feet deep down in the clear, crystal-like 
water. They floated on the surface and crowded each 
other out upon the banks right into the hands of the fisher- 
men, who diligently collected, split, and hung them on 
scaffolds to dry. Dried salmon was used as fuel, for wood 
was very scarce in this part of the country. 

Here and there at the various fishing places stood clus- 
ters of huts built of mats. Landing, Lewis and Clark one 
day visited one of these mat tents. It was crowded with 
men, women, and children who came forward with a 
kindly welcome, bringing mats for their visitors to sit 
upon. The fire was quickly kindled anew with some drift 
wood from the river and salmon cooked for the guests. 

An Indian chief drew an excellent map upon a large 
white elk skin. The Columbia River and its branches 
were represented by lines ; the Indian trails were marked 
by moccasin tracks ; and the villages by clusters of tepees. 
This map of the Columbia River country, until then un- 
known to white men, was very valuable. It was carried 
home to Jefferson, who proudly hung it up in Monticello. 

In the Walla Walla country at the bend of the Columbia, 
our explorers caught sight of a high mountain. "Can this 
lofty peak be Mount Hood?" asked Clark gazing eagerly 
into the distant West. 

"It must be," returned Lewis joyfully. "We are now 
certain that we are on the Great River of the West which 
will carry us to the Pacific Ocean." 



WEST TO THE PACIFIC 295 

Lewis was right. The friendly peak was Mount Hood, 
discovered by Vancouver, an EngHsh navigator, in 1792. 

On, on sped the hopeful little band. "Remain with us 
for some time," pleaded the Walla Walla chieftains. 

"Not now, but when we come back," shouted the voyag- 
ers, as they dashed eagerly on. 

While waiting one day with his companions for the boats 
to come up, Clark saw a large white crane fly across the 




river. He shot the bird. It came down with outspread 
wings and fell close to the spot where he stood. Several 
Indians on the opposite bank of the river heard the shot. 
They saw the bird flutter to the ground and at the same 
moment caught sight of the white men for the first time. 
For an instant they stood motionless, and then fled in 
terror. Clark and his companions followed them to their 
huts. Entering one, Clark found in it a number of men, 
women and children huddled together in hopeless grief. 

Clark spoke kindly to them and gave them presents; 
but all in vain. "Every Indian knows the peacepipe," 
thought he, and drew his pipestone calumet from his 
pocket. But when the terror-sticken people saw him 
kindle the tobacco by letting the rays of the sun fall 
through his sun glass, they fairly shrieked with fright. 



296 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

The Indians who had first seen Clark were the cause of 
all this tumult. Having heard the report of the gun, and 
caught sight of the white men at the very moment when 
the crane fluttered to the ground, they went running home 
with the breathless report that they had seen strange 
people drop from the clouds with great thunder. This 
belief was still further confirmed when Clark lit his pipe 
with fire from the heavens by means of a sun glass. 

By and by the rest of the party arrived. The Nez Perces 
guides did their best to quiet the fears of the frightened 
Indians. But not until Sacajawea and her little boy landed 
could these Indians be convinced that the strangers were 
mere human beings who meant well with them. "No 
squaw travels with a war party," said they, and soon In- 
dians and whites sat peacefully together smoking their 
calumets in honor of the Great Father at Washington. 

As our party glided hopefully onward, they passed first 
the mouth of the John Day's River, then that of the Chute. 
They skillfully darted away over wild-rushing rapids and 
trudged around a falls so steep that they wondered how 
the salmon, crowding the river above, had ever made their 
way up from the ocean over this wall of water. They did 
not then know that at the season of high floods the water 
below the falls, held up by a great rock some distance be- 
yond, rises to a level with the water above, making it pos- 
sible for the salmon to pass up-stream in great multitudes. 

Some distance beyond these falls the explorers were 
surprised to find the river widening into a vast basin with 
water as smooth as that of a lake on a fair summer day. 
"But look at that great dark wall of rock in the distance !" 
exclaimed Lewis. "It seems to extend from the right 
bank entirely across the river." 

"No, I see a pass through it over at the left," said Clark 
as they drew nearer to it. 



WEST TO THE PACIFIC 297 

The party landed and from the top of the great rock 
looked down upon a grand sight, the rapids in the Colum- 
bia known as the Dalles. A pass only about forty-five 
yards wide extended for about half a mile right through 
the huge rock. Through this very narrow channel the 
whole, mighty flood of the Columbia forced its way, whirl- 
ing, swelling, and boihng wildly. 

"We can not possibly drag our boats by land over this 
rock," declared Lewis. 

"No," returned Clark. "But by careful steering we 
might venture a passage. The rapids do not seem to have 
a rocky bed. The water is so wild only because it forces 
itself through such a narrow channel." 

A little later the men in their canoes darted like race 
horses through the boiling, hissing, and foaming waters, 
to the intense surprise of bands of Indians who stood look- 
ing on from above. 

Below the Dalles the river again widened to about two 
hundred yards. The Indians here lived in wooden houses, 
the first seen by the explorers since they had left St. Louis. 
Ever on sped the little fleet between varying scenes of 
lofty mountains and treeless plains, past wandering Indian 
tribes and the strange burial places of their dead, to the 
wild flowing Cascades of the Columbia. Here, for five 
miles, a series of rapids rushed and leaped and foamed 
between mossy, dripping walls of rock, the Cascade Moun- 
tains. Into the very clouds these mountains reached, and 
from their wintry summits sprang countless little water- 
falls which sank in rainbow-colored mists into the chasm 
below. To the south rose Mount Hood, high and snowy. 
To the north. Mount St. Helens reared its glittering 
summit to the sky. 

Passing around the rapids, the explorers launched their 
canoes below it and floated away into a new world, the 



298 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



great, rich valley of the lower Columbia. Sleepy hair- 
seals peered at them from rocky ledges. Flocks of swans, 
geese, ducks, cranes, gulls, and plovers chattered and wad- 
dled and splashed and fished in the river and its creeks. 

Though it was already early 
November the warm, moist Chi- 
nook winds were melting the 
snows on the mountains and cov- 
ering the hills with green. More 
and more delightful grew the 
country and the climate. There 
were groves of mighty trees six 
to ten feet in diameter; rich 
growths of maple, wild cherry, 
crab apple, and giant grape 
vines; great patches of black- 
berries, gardens of wild roses, 
and great jungles of wide- 
spreading ferns. 

Bands of Chinook Indians 
were going down the rivfer with 
loads of salmon to trade for 
beads and wapato, a round white 
root resembling our potato. The 
Chinooks had a new sort of boat, 
a long light canoe, wide in the middle and tapering 
towards the ends, with interesting figures of men and 
beasts carved on the bow. The captains bought one of 
these for a hatchet and a few trinkets. 

Among all the tribes along the Columbia River, Indian 
babes were seen wrapped up like mummies with a flat 
board pressed firmly on the forehead in such a way as 
to force it upon the top of the head. A flat head was 
considered a tribal badge of honor among the Chinooks. 




A WATERFALL OF THE COLUMBIA 



WEST TO THE PACIFIC 299 

Farther back in the mountains the explorers found only 
the women to have flattened heads, but among the Chi- 
nooks both men and women were thus marked. 

Farther down-stream a band of Indians clad in sailor- 
jackets, trousers, and round hats, hailed the voyagers in 
English. "Go two days down," said they; "two ships 
there from Boston; white men in them." 

"Two ships ! white men !" exclaimed the exploring party. 
And on they sped. They did not even see the mouth of 
the Willamette River, the largest of the Columbia's tribu- 
taries, on which now stands the thriving city of Portland. 
Nor did they heed the numerous interesting villages on 
the way. But away they glided through noble forests, 
past shadowy mountains and burning campfires where 
redmen walked between them and the brightening flames. 
Flocks of hundreds of waterfowl and numerous other 
birds swept noisily up-stream, flying away from the lash- 
ing ocean waves and stormy winds. The autumn rains 
were setting in. But what mattered rain and storm when 
the goal was so near and ships from the Atlantic sea- 
board were waiting below? At noon on a day in the 
middle of November they stopped at Cathlamet for dinner. 

"We can even now hear the waves of the ocean rolling 
and dashing against the rocks," exclaimed one of the 
party excitedly. But a dense fog screened the longed-for 
sight from their eyes. Before night the fog cleared away 
and the hero band beheld the ocean forty miles away. 
"The ocean in view!" cried Captain Clark joyfully. "Since 
the days of Columbus, men have searched for a passage to 
the Great South Sea. We have passed up the Missouri 
and down the Columbia through deserts, mountains, and 
wildernesses to find the same South Sea. Here at length 
it lies before us — stretching away to the borders of 
Asia." 



300 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

They cheerfully headed their boats toward the mighty 
sheet of water. But the rain poured in torrents, the light- 
ning flashed, the thunder rolled, and the hail pelted. Again 
and again the voyagers were beaten back by the high 
waves dashing against the shore. They could not find a 
place to camp. Drenched by the rain and faint with hun- 
ger, they drifted about on floating trees or sought shelter 
high up among the rocks. At last the wind and ocean be- 
came somewhat calm and the exhausted party sank down 
upon the beach of the Pacific and slept in the rain. 

In vain the captains looked for the two ships of which 
the Indians had told them. They had secretly hoped that 
Jefferson might have a ship waiting at the mouth of the 
Columbia to take them back home. But Jefferson knew 
that the Spanish in California, the Russians to the north, 
and the English freebooting vessels at sea were ever on 
the watch. He did not, therefore, risk sending a ship. The 
ships seen by the Indians that fall were but two of the 
many gallant Boston vessels which had ventured around 
Cape Horn to the northern Pacific to buy furs, catch the 
whale, or enjoy adventure. 

Part Seven. A Winter at Fort Clatsop by the Sea 

The weather continued very uncomfortable. The rain 
poured day and night. But a winter camp had to be built. 
The site chosen was a sheltered spot south of the Columbia 
about ten miles from the ocean. It was located on a small 
river, now known as the Lewis and Clark River. Here was 
built Fort Clatsop. By Christmas seven cabins, fashioned 
after the frontier forts of Kentucky, were finished. And 
though the men had little reason to be very cheery, they 
nevertheless fired salutes at early dawn, sang an old 
Christmas song, and passed the day in good spirits. Their 



WEST TO THE PACIFIC 301 

friends, the Chinook and Clatsop tribes who dwelt here 
by the sea, were very kind to them. By New Year's day 
the palisades were completed. The Indians were now told 
that the gates would be closed every day at sunset, and 
that they must then leave and not return before sunrise. 
How we should have enjoyed a visit to this first winter 
home of white people on the Oregon coast ! Seated on sec- 




A HERD OF ELK 



tions of tree-trunks before the log fires, the men spent the 
long winter evenings carving cups, plates, and spoons 
from cedar wood. Stories were told and plans were made. 
Often, too, there was a song and a tune on a fiddle. 

Books were written, and a new geography was prepared 
during that winter by the sea. A huge, sawed-off fir stump 
in the center of the captains' cabin was covered with maps 
and neatly-written papers. There were wonderfully in- 
teresting and valuable descriptions of Indian tribes and 



302 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

Indian manners ; of mountains and plains and rivers ; of 
all kinds of plants and animals. 

The country about Fort Clatsop abounded in elk. For 
miles the men would follow the fleet creatures over great 
cranberry marshes, so boggy that a whole acre at a time 
would shake under their feet. A salt-maker's camp was 
built near the ocean. Heaps of shining white candles were 
made from the tallow of the elk. Wapato was bought from 
the Indians. Thus, with plenty of elk meat and salt to 
preserve it, with wapato for bread, and timber and candles 
to warm and light up the long evenings, the explorers 
passed a fairly comfortable winter at Fort Clatsop. 

The shore along the Pacific was lined with Chinook and 
Clatsop villages of neatly built wooden houses. These 
houses were furnished with fireplaces, beds, mats, bowls of 
wood, spoons of horn, and water-tight baskets. 

The rain continued to fall, but now in warm, gentle 
showers. The grass grew green and the wild spring flow- 
ers opened even in December. Toward the end of Janu- 
ary there was a heavy snowfall with sleet and icicles, but, 
like all Oregon snow, it melted away within a few days, 
and spring came to stay. 

Part Eight. Home Again 

The captains would have liked to remain at Fort Clat- 
sop until white traders had come to the Columbia, but 
the elk had gone to the mountains and food was becoming 
very scarce. So on a Sunday afternoon in the latter part 
of March in 1806, they left Fort Clatsop. Slowly they 
paddled up the Columbia. They camped on the site of our 
present Vancouver. This time they saw the mouth of the 
Willamette River and sailed up its course through scenes 
of richest green and blooming currant bushes, red as roses 



WEST TO THE PACIFIC 



303 



in June. Spending a night on the present site of Portland, 
they returned to the Columbia and continued up-stream. 

They made a difficult portage around the wild rushing 
Cascades and the foamy Dalles. Passing through a coun- 
try of wonderful spring beauty, the great northwest 
wheat fields of the present, 
they once more looked upon 
the mouth of the Chute 
River and also that of the 
John Day's. Remembering 
their promise, the chief of 
the Walla Wallas was watch- 
ing for them on his hills. 
They tarried a while with 
these friendly Indians, who 
presented them with a num- 
ber of very fine horses. Of 
all the Indians the explorers 
met, the Walla Wallas were 
the kindest and the most 
honest. 

Following an Indian trail, 
our travelers once more came to the mouth of the Clear- 
water River, where they had left their horses and saddles 
in charge of the Nez Perces. But alas it was still winter 
in the Bitterroot Mountains and the Lolo Trail lay hidden 
beneath great drifts of snow. 

Only late in June did the company set out from their 
camp on the mouth of the Clearwater River. They re- 
crossed the Bitterroot Mountains guided only by the 
marks their baggage had left on the trees and rocks, for 
the trails were still covered with snow and ice. 

East of the mountains the party separated, in the early 
part of July. One division, headed by Lewis, journeyed 




CHIKF JOSEPH OF THE NEZ 
PERCES TRIBE 



304 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

northward to the Falls of the Missouri below the three 
forks, whence they descended down-stream. Clark, with 
the rest of the party, turned south and descended the 
Yellowstone River. In the middle of August the two 
companies met at the junction of the Yellowstone and the 
Missouri and pitched their tents on the very spot on which 
they had camped in April of 1805. The two parties now 
had much to tell each other. 

"We crossed the Missoula River," said Lewis, "and 
pushed on over plains filled with armies of buffalo fleeing 
from the savage Blackfeet. We gazed once more upon the 
Great Falls of the Missouri. Grizzly bears, and mosquitoes 
were as plentiful and as troublesome as before. Beyond 
the Falls we found the baggage in the cache and the boat 
in the copse as we had left them, missing only some of the 
skins which high water had flooded away. On an explora- 
tion trip up the Marias we killed a thieving Blackfoot and 
then were obliged to flee on our horses, hotly pursued by 
his enraged companions. Reaching the Missouri, we shot 
down the swift stream at the rate of eighty, even a 
hundred miles a day." 

"And we," returned Clark, "passed through a beautiful 
valley, colored pink by the blooming bitterroot plant. We 
saw the deer and herds of big-horns leaping from rock to 
rock way up on the snowy heights. Sacajawea led us 
safely through mountain passes over the continental 
divide to the Beaver Meadows of the Jefferson River. 
Here we found the baggage we had buried and the boats 
as we had sunk them. From the headquarters of the 
Missouri, we pushed on over a low divide to the source 
waters of the Yellowstone. Each day as we glided down 
the Yellowstone, the outline of the mountains against the 
western horizon became fainter. More and more numerous 
became the buffalo. One day we waited for an hour to 



WEST TO THE PACIFIC 305 

let a herd cross the river, and before evening two more 
herds as large as the first came along, blackening the 
stream as they crossed. 

The reunited party now proceeded rapidly down the 
Missouri and before long came to the Mandan village. 
Here they left Sacajawea, the heroine of the expedition. 
Some distance below the Mandan country, our explorers 
were hailed by a number of men coming up-stream on a 
barge. "The country has long given you up as lost in 
the depths of the continent," they said. "We are sent by 
Jefferson to seek for news of Lewis and Clark." 

Joyfully the party sped away, eager to be home again. 
Down the stream they shot as fast as oars, sails, and 
current could carry them. They stopped at the grave of 
their comrade. Sergeant Floyd, the only man who had 
died during that long voyage of two and one-half years 
through eight thousand miles of unknown wilderness. 
They stopped again farther down-stream and spent a night 
with Daniel Boone. 

At noon on a day in late September, 1806, our heroes 
floated from the Missouri into the Mississippi and moored 
their boats before the white walls of St. Louis. The whole 
of the city came to welcome this interesting band of men 
with long hair and beards, dressed in skins, wearing leg- 
gings and moccasins, and three-cornered cocked hats! 

But both captains were soon off on their way to Wash- 
ington to report to the President. They went by way of 
Cahokia, Vincennes, Louisville, and Cumberland Gap. 

"Heigh-ho for Kentucky!" cried William Clark as he 
caught sight of its thriving villages. Many a log cabin 
had expanded into a spacious house, with glazed floors, 
costly furniture, and halls full of music and learning. 

In January the captains reached Washington and placed 
in the hands of the grateful President their precious jour- 



306 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



nal and other valuable records obtained at such great cost 
of labor and courage. 

Congress heard with ever increasing surprise how 
Lewis and Clark had carried the flag to the Pacific. Henry 
Clay, a member of the Senate ever advocating roads and 
canals, came forward to greet the two young heroes. An- 
other young man with bright eyes and manly bearing was 
at the very time endeavoring to interest Congress in an in- 
vention. It was 
Robert Fulton, the 
inventor of the 
steamboat. 

What an inter- 
esting group of 
great men ! Jef- 
ferson purchased 
Louisiana ; Lewis 
and Clark revealed 
to the world its 
priceless worth; 
Henry Clay, by ad- 
vocating the building of roads and canals, and Robert 
Fulton, by inventing the steamboat, encouraged emigra- 
tion into the great wonderful country. 

Could this little group of heroes have looked into the 
future, they would have seen the people of St. Louis flock 
to the river in 1817 to see the General Pike, the fir^t 
steamboat that ever came up the Mississippi. They might 
also, some years later, in 1832, have seen the first steamer 
on the Missouri, the Yellowstone, passing up-stream 
whistling at every trading post and Indian village. The 
redmen gazed with amazement upon the puffing, snorting 
canoe, but soon all of them, even the savage Blackfeet, 
became eager to trade with the wonderful fireboat which 




Fulton's first steamboat 



WEST TO THE PACIFIC 307 

each year made a trip up the river. Our heroes could, 
furthermore, have seen in the distant future great multi- 
tudes of people from the Atlantic seaboard moving into 
the new land of Louisiana. Faster and faster came the 
settlers, like a mighty flood. Conestoga wagons followed 
each other in long processions across the Alleghanies. 
Towns, counties, lakes, and rivers were named after these 
pioneer settlers who thus wrote their names upon the 
map of our country. Farther and farther west pushed 
the pioneers, on horseback, in wagons, canoes, and steam- 
boats. The journey was always long and difficult, but so 
well had Lewis and Clark shown the way that all who fol- 
lowed them as traders or home-builders had a sure track 
along which to travel into the great Far West. 

Questions for Thought 

1. Locate the Louisiana Purchase. 

2. What did the purchase of Louisiana mean to the United 
States? 

3. Trace the route of Lewis and Clark from St. Louis to Fort 
Clatsop and back. 

4. Find out all you can about the climate of Washington and 
Oregon. 

5. Make a list of the wild animals mentioned in our Lewis and 
Clark story. 

6. Imagine wireless telegraphy in use in the days of Lewis and 
Clark. Write the message the two captains might have sent to 
Jefferson on reaching the Pacific, as also the return message of 
the President. 

7. Of what importance to our country was Lewis and Clark's 
expedition? 

Selections for Reading 

Sacajawea — Edna Dean Procter 

Indian Names — Lydia Huntley Sigourney 

Portions of Hiawatha — Longfellow 



IX. 

A MISSIONARY TO THE FAR WEST 

"Two Indian braves from Oregon want to see the Red- 
Head Chief," said a clerk to Governor Clark, who was 
busy at his desk in the Indian Office at St. Louis. 

Clark laughed on hearing himself called the "Red-Head 
Chief." It reminded him of the days of his youth. He 
welcomed his Indian friends most heartily but could 
scarcely believe that they had traveled on foot the great 
distance of nearly two thousand miles to see him. "Ah, 
you come from the Flathead and Nez Perces tribes. I 
have not forgotten your fields of camas and your kindness 
when you said, 'The horses on these plains and hills are 
ours. Take as many as you need.' Now it is my turn to 
be kind to you. Come and live in my house and eat at 
my table." 

"We have come to ask you for a blackrobe," said Black 
Eagle, the leader of the band. 

How came the Flatheads and Nez Perces to know of a 
Catholic priest ? A number of Iroquois Indians from New 
York had come among the tribes of Oregon as traders in 
the service of an English fur-trading company. These 
Iroquois, whose forefathers had learned the truths of the 
Catholic faith from the saintly Jesuit Father Jogues, told 
their western kinsmen of the teachings of the great black- 
robes in the East. They taught them the sign of the cross 
and other simple prayers they remembered, and urged 
them to keep holy the Sunday. The docile Flatheads and 
Nez Perces were much pleased with the teachings and ex- 
ample of the Iroquois. "We must have a blackrobe," said 

308 



A MISSIONARY TO THE FAR WEST 



309 



the chiefs gathered in a great council around their fires. 
"If we could only find Lewis and Clark, they would help 
us." Four braves, two of whom had seen Lewis and Clark, 
were sent to seek the white chiefs. 

"Yes, a blackrobe will come to you," said Clark. 

The Jesuit missionaries at St. Louis were too few in 
number to spare a blackrobe at the time. But the story 




A i-I^A'i'lliiAlJ IXUlAlNi HUME OF TODAY 



of the four chiefs who came all the way to St. Louis to 
ask for a priest spread far and wide. As a result, a num- 
ber of Protestant ministers crossed the mountains and 
established missions in the Oregon country. 

One of the Flathead chiefs named Insula went to the 
mission located on the Green River to meet those whom 
he thought to be blackrobes. He was, however, disap- 
pointed to find instead of a blackrobe the Protestant min- 
ister Marcus Whitman and his assistant. The old Iroquois 
Ignace, who had so zealously instructed the Flatheads 
and Nez Perces, now set out for St. Louis with his 



310 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 



two sons. Again no blackrobe could be given them, A 
third delegation headed by the young Ignace came to St. 
Louis. This time their earnest petition was granted. A 
young Jesuit, Father Peter John De Smet, deeply im- 
pressed by the visit of the young Ignace, begged the 
bishop and his superior that he might go as missionary 
among the Oregon tribes. 
His offer was gladly accepted. 

Father De Smet was a 
strong, vigorous man of me- 
dium height, with broad 
shoulders, deep chest, a mas- 
sive head, black hair, and 
large dark eyes. He was 
hardy, adventurous, and in- 
different to danger, and yet 
of an affectionate, gentle, 
and generous disposition. 
Born in Belgium in 1801, he 
began his studies for the 
priesthood at the age of nine- 
teen. Inspired by the ac- 
counts of an aged Kentuck- 
ian missionary who happened to visit the seminary, the 
young De Smet made up his mind to become a missionary 
in the New World. On landing at Philadelphia after a 
voyage of forty-two days, he entered the Jesuit novitiate 
in Maryland with the hope of being sent some day to labor 
among the Indians. 

Advised by the government, the Jesuits had erected a 
house in the village of Florissant near St. Louis in which 
young men were trained for missionary work. Hither 
came the young De Smet. After some years he v/ent to 
St. Louis and there helped with his own hands to quarry 




FATHER DE SMET 



A MISSIONARY TO THE FAR WEST 311 

the stones for the building of St. Louis University. His 
heart, was, however, with the dusky children of the wilder- 
ness and the petition of the young Ignace for a blackrobe 
seemed to him like a voice from heaven. 

With joyful heart Father De Smet now entered upon his 
life work. Joining a company of fur traders he set out 
on his first trip to the Oregon country early in the spring 
of 1840. Arriving in the land of the Shoshones he was 
met by three hundred warriors who came galloping into 
camp and listened eagerly to his instructions. "Black- 
robe," said one of the chiefs when Father De Smet had 
finished speaking, "the words of thy mouth have found the 
way to our hearts. They will never be forgotten." 

The good priest was happy. He advised the Indians to 
select one of their number w^ho every evening would call 
them together for prayer. This the chiefs did. After 
spending a week with the Shoshones, Father De Smet 
started northward to the valley of the upper Snake, where 
he found a party of Flatheads encamped. "On the first 
evening," said Father De Smet, "I gathered all these 
people, about one thousand six hundred, around my lodge. 
I said the evening prayers and they sang together several 
songs of their own composition on the praises of God." 

After two months among the Flatheads, Father De 
Smet appointed a chief to take his place at time of prayer 
and to baptize the children. He then set out for St. Louis 
accompanied by thirty warriors. While journeying 
bravely on over trackless wilds, he and his companions 
suddenly found themselves surrounded by a savage war 
party of Blackfeet. "Who are you?" asked the leader 
of the dreaded band, eyeing the cassock and glittering 
crucifix of the fearless Jesuit. 

"He is a blackrobe," said one of the Flatheads. "He is 
a son of the Great Spirit." 



312 



OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 




ST. MARY'S MISSION AMONG THE FLATHEADS 



One moment of breathless silence, and the blood-thirsty 
Blackfeet slunk away. Father De Smet and his party 
continued their way peacefully to St. Louis, where they 
were warmly welcomed at the University. 

By spring of the next year, the zealous missionary, 
accompanied by three more Jesuit priests and two broth- 
ers, returned to 
his Flatheads. 
He gathered them 
in the Bitterroot 
Valley and here 
founded in Octo- 
ber, 1841, a few 
miles south of the 
present Missoula, 
St. Mary's, the 
first permanent 
Jesuit mission in the Far West. Imagine Father De Smet's 
grateful joy when he could write to St. Louis in Decem- 
ber: "The whole Flathead nation has been converted and 
many Indians of the neighboring tribes baptized." 

Tirelessly Father De Smet went from tribe to tribe, 
everywhere instructing his beloved redmen and founding 
missions among them. As soon as a place was well 
started, he left it in charge of another Jesuit Father 
and went on to start a new mission somewhere else. 
Sometimes he would wander far out of his way to visit 
an old mission. On hearing the news of the arrival of 
the loved Father who had so long been absent, the over- 
joyed redmen gathered from all parts of the country to 
greet him. Mothers would lay the hands of their in- 
fants into those of the missionary. With childlike con- 
fidence the chiefs of the tribes would tell him that during 
the many years of his absence they always had rested 



A MISSIONARY TO THE FAR WEST 



313 




THE SACKED HEART MISSION 



on Sundays and had come together every morning and 
evening to say their prayers at the sound of the Angelus. 
Again the tireless priest would plod his way back to St. 
Louis beset from all sides by lurking beasts and bands 
of roving savages. The Blackfeet were a source of great 

trouble to the 
good Father. By 
constantly mak- 
ing war upon 
every other tribe 
of Indians, they 
worked much de- 
struction among 
Father De Smet's 
converted tribes. 
Father De 
Smet frequently went to Europe in the interest of the 
Indians. Traveling from country to country he begged 
priests and money for his missions. At Rome the Holy 
Father, Gregory XVI, rose from his throne and embraced 
Father De Smet. Imagine the joy of the humble mis- 
sionary at that moment! When returning to America 
after his first visit to Europe, Father De Smet took the 
long route by way of Cape Horn, casting anchor in the 
mouth of the Columbia River. On board the frail little 
sailing vessel were eight Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, 
the first nuns on Oregon soil. They began their labors in a 
mission on the Willamette River. After five years, how- 
ever, they withdrew to San Jose, Cahfornia. 

Father De Smet often complained bitterly of the white 
traders who introduced and sold strong drinks among 
the Indians. "The redmen are intensely fond of liquor," 
said he, "and will give up everything they have for a 
little of this 'fire water,' as they call it. 



314 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

Several Indians had at one time exchanged a large store 
of costly furs for a keg of brandy. The keg was hastily 
set up in the middle of the wigwam. Just then Father 
De Smet chanced to come along. In the twinkle of an eye 
the fearless priest seized an ax and knocked in the bot- 
tom of the keg. The savages dashed forward with fright- 
ful yells to save the precious liquid. But not one of them 
dared touch the great blackrobe. 

Not all the white men loved the Indians as did the good 
Father De Smet. The poor redmen were often cheated 
and crowded off their lands. It was hard for them to for- 
give, and they often rebelled and made bloody wars upon 
the whites. Again and again Congress sent its agents to 
bring about peace with the Indians. But these agents 
could do nothing. The helpless government, knowing 
what wonderful power Father De Smet had over the sav- 
ages, now looked to him for aid. The good priest served 
his country well, often making long journeys to calm the 
angry redmen and stop bloody uprisings. 

The great Jesuit's influence over the Indians was 
marvelous, and stands out unequaled in history. At one 
time war with the terrible Sioux had spread through the 
whole region of the upper Missouri and Yellowstone 
valleys. Father De Smet alone of all the white race could 
meet these cruel savages and return unharmed. Fear- 
lessly the brave missionary made his way across the Bad 
Lands to the main Sioux camp. Here five thousand war- 
riors were gathered about their famous chief. Sitting Bull. 

Would Father De Smet venture into this frightful gath- 
ering? His great, strong heart feared not his beloved red- 
men. The surprised savages greeted him with untold 
joy. They loved and trusted him. He spoke kindly to 
them and brought them to meet the government agents 
and sign a treaty of peace. This event is looked upon as 
the most remarkable in the history of the Indian wars. 



A MISSIONARY TO THE FAR WEST 315 

A fearless traveler and lover of adventure, Father De 
Smet could travel for months at a time. He crossed the 
ocean nineteen times and journeyed no less than one hun- 
dred and eighty thousand miles during his missionary 
labors. He could eat any kind of food, sleep in the open, 
and share in every way the wandering life of the Indians. 

His quiet dignity and winning manners, his loyal nature 
and warm-hearted goodness won for him the confidence 
and love of the redmen. Even today he is spoken of among 
the tribes of the West as "The Great Blackrobe," "The 
White Man of Gentle Speech," "The Indian's Best Friend." 

The great missionary delighted in the company of the 
young, and frequently spent an hour telling the children 
of St. Louis about his travels among the Indians of the 
Rocky Mountains. When walking the streets, he often 
found himself suddenly surrounded by a group of eager 
little ones begging for one of his stories. 

After a life of seventy-one years, full of heroic sacrifice 
and labor for the glory of God and the welfare of the west- 
ern Indians, the great Apostle of the Rocky Mountains 
died in the quiet of his room in St. Louis University. His 
body was buried at Florissant. There, in the sight of the 
mighty Missouri, rest the remains of Father Peter John 
De Smet, the last of the world-famous Jesuit missionaries 
among the Indians of the American wilds. 

Questions for Thought 

1. What do you think gave Father De Smet that wonderful 
influence over the Indians? 

2. Find out all you can about Father De Smet's experiences 
among the Indians, and write one of the stories that you think 
he probably told the children of St. Louis. 

Selection for Reading 

Our Country — Author Unknown. (Elson Grammar School 
Reader, II, p. 19.) 



THE WEST IS LINKED WITH THE EAST 
1. THE FORTY-NINERS 

It was in the early spring of 1849. Almost three- 
fourths of a century had elapsed since the founding of 
San Francisco by Padre Serra, and very nearly one-half 
of a century since Lewis and Clark camped at Fort 
Clatsop on the Pacific. The old missions had already 
passed from the loving care of the good Padres into the 
destroying charge of the government agents ; Upper Cali- 
fornia had just become a part of the United States as 
a result of a war with Mexico. 

The broad Pacific still washed, as of old, the shores on 
which hooded Padres in sandaled feet once swung their 
bells, planted the cross, and sang their hymns. But the 
hallowed solitude of old was now being woefully disturbed. 
The harbor of San Francisco was all astir. It was crowded 
with ships and thronged by thousands of people. What 
had happened ? What meant that mad rush ? What could 
be the subject of those eager, excited conversations 
around the open campfires? It was *'gold!" There had 
come 

The days of old, 

The days of gold, 

The days of forty-nine. 

And this is the story of their coming : Captain Sutter, 
a Swiss emigrant, engaged James Marshall to build a 
water-power saw-mill on the American Fork, a branch 
of the Sacramento River, a short distance from Fort 
Sutter, and not far away from a village which has since 

316 



THE WEST IS LINKED WITH THE EAST 317 

developed into the city of Sacramento. Let us imagine 
ourselves visitors on the site in January of the year 1848. 
The spot was a lonely one indeed. The only dwelling on 
the place was a double log cabin. The framework of a 
mill had just been erected and a fine dam constructed. A 
band of about eighteen men were engaged in the act of 




SAN FRANCISCO IN 1849 

digging the mill-race. The overseer, James Marshall, 
observed that the lower end of the race was too narrow. 

"The water will not flow away fast enough," he said. 
"Perhaps we can save labor and time by opening the 
dam directly into the race." 

No sooner said than done. The gate was raised and 
all night long a strong current flowed surging through 
the ditch, widening and deepening it and depositing a 
vast miass of mud and gravel beyond the outlet. 

After having shut down the gate the next morning, 
Marshall said to one of the workmen, "Let us walk down 
the race and see what the water has accomplished." To- 
gether the two men walked along the deep track, noting 



318 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

with pleasure how well the water had done its work. 
They soon came to the end of the race and beheld with 
surprise the vast deposit of mud and gravel. 

"But what is this?" said Marshall, hastily picking up 
a small glittering substance. "Can it be gold?" asked 
each of the two men as if with one voice. They felt of 
it; they weighed it in their hands; they finally tried in 
vain to break it between two stones. 

"Since it cannot be broken, it must be a metal," said 
Marshall. "Have your wife boil it in saleratus water to 
clean it and reveal its real color." 

All day and all night the metal boiled in soapy water. 
The following morning found it all the brighter. 

Several more shining particles were found by the mill 
hands. Marshall showed the strange metal to Captain 
Sutter, who tested it as best he knew how. "I am almost 
certain it is gold," said he, "but to make sure, take it to 
San Francisco and have it examined." 

Away sped Marshall on his horse. Returning, decked 
with mud and dust, he greeted Captain Sutter with the 
exciting news, "It is really pure gold!" The two men 
agreed that nothing should be said concerning the dis- 
covery. But the secret could not be kept; it spread like 
magic. The very winds seemed to whisper it. Eager 
gold-seekers from the surrounding country and from 
Oregon soon poured pell-mell into the Sacramento Valley. 

Several more rich deposits of the precious metal were 
discovered, and soon the glittering yellow flakes were 
picked up almost anywhere. The report passed like wild- 
fire from one village, town, and city to another. Within 
a surprisingly short time it reached every part of America. 
It found its way across the ocean and sped rapidly 
throughout the countries of Europe. By 1849 it had 
reached every civilized country on the globe. 



THE WEST IS LINKED WITH THE EAST 319 

From all parts of the world the emigrants now flocked 
to the land of gold. Growing fields of grain were left 
unreaped ; workshops were abandoned ; ships went to sea 
with scarcely enough men to spread the sails; even the 
mihtary posts were deserted. On ships, nineteen thou- 
sand miles by way of Cape Horn, the fortune seekers sped. 
Some took the shorter route of five thousand miles by 
way of Panama. Going by steamer to the isthmus, they 
crossed the narrow neck with great difficulty on mule- 




EMIGRANTS ON THEIR WAY TO CALIFORNIA 

back and then proceeded again by boat to San Francisco. 
Most of the emigrants, however, went overland. On foot, 
on horseback, and in prairie schooners they wended their 
weary way of two thousand miles along one of the several 
trails to the West. They always started from some point 
on the Missouri, whence most of them followed the 
Oregon Trail by way of the Platte River and the South 
Pass as far as Fort Hall, from where they traveled down 
the Humboldt Valley and across the Sierra Nevada Moun- 
tains to Sutter's Fort. 

Like a great army the emigrant trains filled the roads 
for miles. By night their campfires glittered in every 
direction about the places favored with fresh water and 
grass. A traveler on the Oregon Trail once counted over 
four hundred and fifty prairie schooners in a distance of 
ten miles. 



320 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

Over plains and mountains and deserts the gold-seekers 
trudged. Mothers, leading their children by the hand, 
climbed the steep and rugged highlands and waded 
through the deep and heavy sands of the deserts. Men 
once strong and robust sank pale and haggard to the 
ground from sheer exhaustion. Whole parties fell be- 
neath the tomahawks of the Indians. Wrecks of wagons ; 
bleaching skeletons of oxen, mules, and horses ; and 
numerous graves of men, women, and children soon 
clearly marked the road of the emigrants. 

Nevertheless, people arrived in the gold regions by the 
thousands. These pioneers were in after years called the 
"Forty-niners" because they went to California in 1849. 
Soon their canvas tents and bush arbors thickly dotted 
the hillsides in the gold region. In the full glare of the 
scorching sun they worked restlessly on with shovels, 
spades, and pick-axes. In tin pans, closely woven bas- 
kets, and cradles, they washed the sands for gold. Many 
did not even stop for food or rest. 

But farms, gardens, and orchards had been abandoned. 
How was this multitude of human beings to be fed? 
Flour sold at one hundred dollars a barrel. Apples 
brought one dollar apiece. Vegetables, butter, eggs, and 
meat were of equal value with gold. Great trains of 
wagons moved along carrying provisions to the Califor- 
nia fortune diggers. Now and then a driver spied 
particles of gold among the sands at almost every point 
of the road, even far up into Oregon. 

"Gold in Oregon!" flew as if on wings over the hills 
and valleys. And northward, way into British Columbia, 
the gold-hunters pushed. Thousands were soon gathering 
gold in the valleys of the John Day, Powder, and Willa- 
mette rivers. The yellow metal gleamed from the rocky 
walls of mountains and canyons. Whole nests of it were 



THE WEST IS LINKED WITH THE EAST 



321 



found in the highlands. The beds of the rivers and the 
sands of the ocean beach gUttered with it. 

By 1853 the excitement subsided. Many of the gold- 
diggers had found the wealth they had expected to find; 
but by far the majority had met with disappointment, 
while countless numbers had perished miserably. Most 
of the forty-niners had come only to make their fortunes 




DIGGING AND WASHING GOLD 

and then return home. Many of them, however, as they 
moved along from one Calif ornian or Oregon gold deposit 
to another, took up claims and built their cabins. Some 
of the newcomers were wise enough to see that they 
could gain more profit by selling food, tools, and other 
supplies to the miners than by digging for gold. So they 
engaged in trade or agriculture. By and by, people also 
became aware that the wonderfully rich soil and most 
genial climate of the West were sources of far greater 
wealth than its gold mines. Numerous thrifty families 
now came West, and home-building began in good earnest. 
Towns and cities had meanwhile sprung up with in- 



322 OUR COUNTRY TN STORY 

credulous rapidity, in some instances even over night. 
Within a half-year San Francisco had grown from a vil- 
lage of a few huts to a city of fifteen thousand people. 
In less than three years the population of California in- 
creased from scarcely ten thousand inhabitants to more 
than a quarter of a million ; it was consequently admitted 
as a state in 1850. 

2. EARLY MEANS OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN 
THE EAST AND THE WEST 

On the map of the state of Missouri find the city of 
St. Joseph. Let us imagine ourselves seated here on the 
grassy left bank of the Missouri River shortly after 
the Pacific Coast had been peopled so rapidly. Our 
thoughts are with the emigrants in the Far West. We 
picture them in their new homes and think with awe 
of the two thousand miles of wilderness which stretch 
away between them and this little town of St. Joseph. 
"Do not these distant settlers feel cut off from the rest 
of the world? Are they not lonesome for their homes 
in the East?" we ask ourselves. We are told that they 
are quite unattached. They are a vigorous, adventurous, 
and generous class of people, and love the rich, sunny 
country in which they live in luxury and abundance. 

But do these Western settlers not long for letters and 
for the news from home ? As if in answer to our musing, 
a horseman comes riding along at break-neck speed. We 
hail him, "Where are you bound for?" 

"No time to answer questions! Jump on behind and 
see for yourself." 

We leap into the saddle back of the rider, and off we 
dash. Where to? Ah, we are riding with the pony 
express which is carrying mail to our friends at Sacra- 
mento in the Far West. On, on we fly. Speed is of the 



THE WEST IS LINKED WITH THE EAST 



323 



greatest importance. But surely our pony cannot hold 
out long at this pace. No; we have ridden about fifteen 
or twenty miles. Ahead is a cluster of log cabins. Here 
we are, right up to the door of one of them. We look 
neither right nor left, but dismount in haste and leap 
upon the back of another pony standing ready for the 
purpose. Away we speed to the next station. Here, with- 
out a moment's loss, we mount a fresh pony and off we 
race once more. At the third 
station we dash up to a rider 
sitting ready in his saddle, 
and hastily deliver to him 
our mail bag. Away he flies 
like a bird on the wing, to 
repeat what we have done. 

Thus the pony express 
bore the mail — only letters, 
at five dollars per half-ounce 
— from St. Joseph, Missouri, 
to Sacramento, California, in 
ten days. By day and by 
night; in sunshine and in rain; in cold and in heat; over 
prairies and deserts and mountains, the brave, tireless 
mail carriers made their perilous rides. Not one of them 
but could tell of Indian attacks, of great hardships, and 
of hairbreadth escapes, while more than a few perished 
miserably on the way. 

Famous among the pony express riders was William F. 
Cody, known the country over as "Buffalo Bill." He once 
made a continuous ride of three hundred and eighty-four 
miles without stopping, except for meals and to change 
horses. It is interesting to know that Colonel Cody, who 
died but recently (January, 1917), was received into the 
Catholic Church on his deathbed. His remains were en- 




COLONEL WILLIAM F. CODY 



324 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

tombed on the summit of Lookout Mountain, near Cody, 
Wyoming. Here, high above the plains on which the 
buffalo once roamed in countless thousands, on which 
the wild whoop of the Indians once disturbed the silence 
of the wilderness, and over which prairie schooners once 
rocked their weary way in long processions, rests Colonel 
William F. Cody. With this famous man the last reminder 
of the "wild and woolly West" has passed away. 

But only a few years after the establishment of the 
pony express, in the autumn of 1861, the people of the 
East and West one day found themselves watching in 
vain for the coming of the pony express. "Shall we have 
no more fast mails from the farthest end of our country ? 
Who will carry our letters for us?" 

"Send your messages by wire," said a man in a clicking 
telegraph station. Yes, a telegraph line had been stretched 
across the continent, and all important news was flashed 
over this line. Now and then a band of Indians would 
cut the telegraph wire in two and then ride triumph- 
antly away. The wily redmen looked with suspicion 
upon this silent conveyor of news. Often while the 
savages were thus carrying on their work of destruction 
the telegraph company would string a wire through the 
grass around the Indians, and messages would go flash- 
ing over the line in spite of the break. 

Overland express stages also carried passengers and 
letters and packages to and fro between the East and 
West. The Indians greatly hated these stages. This 
circumstance alone made a stage ride across the conti- 
nent extremely dangerous, to say nothing of the many 
other hardships and perils connected with such a journey. 

Think of one of these stage wagons, drawn by three 
spans of horses or fleet mules, tearing along with a band 
of Indians in hot chase. Hearken to the shots of pistols 



THE WEST IS LINKED WITH THE EAST 325 

and the whizzing of arrows and bullets as they pass close 
enough to touch the driver's ears or scratch his hands. 
He turns and fires a few sure shots at his pursuers. Then 
he whipe up his horses and away they rush almost head- 
long down a steep path. Finally, the redmen are left far 
behind — the stage has once more made a close escape. 

"This is too dangerous and too slow a manner of travel- 
ing," said the people. "Congress must build a railroad 
to the Pacific." 




--Jv .■ 1 



!i\ 1 i;,.\Mi KXI'UKSS STA(iK AND POXV KXI'KKS.s 

The idea was loudly ridiculed. "A railroad across 
twenty-five hundred niiles of prairies, deserts, and moun- 
tains ?" exclaimed one of the senators. "Who could ever 
think of undertaking such a foolhardy thing !" 

"But we must have a railroad to the Pacific," declared 
the people. Finally Congress sent five bands of men to 
survey five routes to the Pacific ; one on each the thirty- 
second, thirty-fifth, thirty-eighth, forty-second, and forty- 
eighth parallel. Each band came back with a favorable 
report. Each had found a path along which a railroad 
to the Pacific might be laid. 

"On which of the five parallels shall we build?" asked 
Congress. 



326 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

"On the forty-eighth, from Omaha," said the people 
of the North. 

"No, no; build it on the thirty-second parallel, running 
out from Vicksburg," demanded the South. The two sec- 
tions would not agree, so nothing could be done. Before 
long, however, the North and the South entered upon a 
terrible war with each other. 

The North said: "We do not want slavery." 

The South declared: "If we are not allowed to have 
slaves, we will withdraw from the Union." 

"You shall not have slaves, nor may you withdraw from 
the Union," said the North. 

Soon the cannon pealed and blood flowed. The people 
of one and the same country had risen to arms against 
each other and ushered in the great Civil War. The noble 
Lincoln, pointing to the map said, "The Pacific coast is 
undefended. We must build a railroad. Begin at Omaha." 

And a railroad was built. It was begun in 1862. The 
Union Pacific, assisted by Congress with a large sum of 
money, built westward from Omaha. The Californians 
were overjoyed. They, too? began to build. Their Cen- 
tral Pacific Company started Eastward from Sacramento. 

3. THE FIRST RAILROAD ACROSS THE CONTINENT 

One can scarcely imagine what a gigantic undertaking 
the building of the first railroad across the continent was. 
Both ends of the track had to be laid through a new 
country entirely unpeopled except for the few settlements 
in Utah and a number of mining towns and camps in 
Colorado and Nevada. There were therefore no foundries, 
no factories, nor machine shops to supply the necessary 
building material for the new road. Among the moun- 
tains and in the vast stretches of deserts not a drop of 
water was obtainable. 



THE WEST IS LINKED WITH THE EAST 327 

Nevertheless, we one day find San Francisco harbor all 
astir. Numerous ships are crowding the bay. A stranger 
might suspect another gold rush. These ships have come 
from the Atlantic seaboard by way of Cape Horn and 
are bringing tons and tons of iron rails and large stores 
of tools for the new railroad. A great number of men 
are unloading the heavy cargoes which are at once dragged 
overland to Sacramento. Fortunately, the dense forests 
of the Sierra Nevadas will provide the Californian work- 
men with all the timber needed for ties, trestlework, snow- 
sheds, and telegraph poles. 

The eastern end of the proposed track will pass through 
hundreds of miles of treeless prairies. There are, it is 
true, rich growths of cottonwood in the Platte Valley, 
but the soft cottonwood timber is unserviceable in the 
building of railroads. But see, the Missouri River is 
crowded with freight boats for miles above and below 
Omaha. These boats are laden with heavy timbers from 
nearby and distant forests. Great loads of iron supplies 
are also being brought across Iowa by rail as far as 
Omaha. But listen to that strange rumbling, puffing 
noise. Ah ! see in the distance that huge engine tugging 
slowly along. It has been dragged across the country 
all the way from Des Moines. For what purpose? To be 
used by the Union Pacific workmen in their railroad 
shops. 

Of the two companies building the road, the Union 
Pacific has perhaps the less difficult part to construct. 
Its route extends along the trail mapped out by the forty- 
niners, which passes, for the most part, through a level 
country. But the Central Pacific will have to be con- 
structed over and through the lofty Sierra Nevadas. 

For six years the work proceeded steadily on both the 
Eastern and Western ends of the road. Several thou- 



328 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

sand Chinamen were imported to California to work on 
the Western end. The workmen on the Eastern track 
were largely European emigrants. Many of the laborers 
were soldiers who had served in the war. Some of these 
helped to build the track, while others protected the work- 
men against Indian attacks. It has been boastfully said 
that a gang of tracklayers on the Union Pacific could at 
any moment be formed into an army of soldiers. Never- 
theless, there were wild times, with dreadful days and 
nights, with frequent hot and bloody Indian battles; and 
the grave of many a builder of the great track lies side 
by side with that of an explorer, a gold-seeker, or a 
pioneer — all heroes in the westward march of our nation. 

Some twenty-five thousand men were employed on the 
road during the closing months of its construction. And 
there began the greatest race of its kind on record. The 
Central Pacific workmen wound round and up and over 
the Sierra Nevadas. Eastward they rushed, crossing deep 
ravines and rugged canyons, chiseling shelves upon the 
rocky precipices and tunneling their way through walls 
of solid rock. Fourteen tunnels had to be excavated. 
While some of the laborers were cutting these hollows 
through the rock, others hauled their iron, tools, and even 
locomotives over the rocky heights and continued work 
on the other side; finally, both tracklayers and tunnel- 
diggers joined hands and completed the track. 

Both companies pushed on at the rate of four to ten 
miles a day, and finally the bold Californians and the 
sturdy Union Pacific men met at Promontory Point, not 
far from Ogden, Utah, in May of 1869. Only two lengths 
of the rails remained to be laid between the two ends. 
These must be put in place with fitting ceremonies. 

A train carrying the officers of the Union Pacific Com- 
pany and a detachment of soldiers representing the 



THE WEST IS LINKED WITH THE EAST 



b29 



national government came in from the East. The governor 
of California arrived from the West. There stood the 
two great, puffing, snorting engines, gaily decorated in red, 
white, and blue. In the presence of more than a thousand 
people the remaining ties were laid. The last one was finely 
polished and bore a silver plate with the inscription : "The 
last tie on the Pacific railroad. May 10, 1869." The work- 




JOINING THE TWO PACIFIC KAILKOADS 

men from the West laid their last pair of rails ; those from 
the East did the same. 

The last spike, one of gold, presented by California, was 
still to be driven. Telegraph wires from all parts of the 
country were connected with this spot in the desert. At 
last flashed from Promontory Point: "We are nearly 
ready to begin — bow heads, prayers ar« being said." 

After a pause came the message: "The spike is being 
presented." 

The governor of California and the vice-president of 
the Union Pacific Company then drove the golden spike. 



330 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY 

Flashing over the wires went the glad tidings : "The last 
tie has been placed, the last rail laid, and the last fipike 
driven. The Pacific Railroad is completed." 

Cheers and shouts from the bystanders and shrieks 
and whistles from the locomotives rent the air of the 
lonely desert. The enthusiasm of the crowd was reechoed, 
as it were, in the great cities of the East and the West 
by the ringing of bells and the firing of guns. 

While the road was being built regular runs were made 
on the newly laid track as far as it had been completed, 
carrying supplies and provisions to the workmen. And 
as the work on the road progressed, miners' camps, small 
settlements, and stations sprang up along its course. 
After the completion of the road, thousands and thou- 
sands of sincere, industrious men and women poured into 
the new country, and miners' camps and villages and towns 
grew speedily into flourishing cities. Thus new and rich 
states were formed where only a few years before were 
found Indian camps, colonies of prairie dogs, and great 
herds of shaggy buffalo and fleet-footed antelope. 

Soon branch lines grew and reached out from the great 
road, and now five transcontinental lines bear the traveler 
and emigrant to and fro across the continent. Over the 
route where Lewis and Clark pushed wearily on more 
than a century ago, the traveler now speeds swiftly along 
over iron rails. The East and the West have been linked 
with each other and with all the rest of world. 

Questions for Thought 

1. Find out all you can about Abraham Lincoln. 

2. Enumerate some of the immediate results of the discovery 
of gold in California. 

3. What did the completion of the first trans-continental rail- 
road mean for the people of the United States? 

Selection for Reading 

America — Samuel Francis Smith 



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